Chapter 2 - THE BOY BEHIND THE CURTAINS
Ethan Hale sat alone in a dark bedroom with headphones resting around his neck and his phone facedown on the table.
The curtains remained closed even during the day. His father said darkness helped him stay calm. The doctors at Westbridge Recovery Center said too much stimulation could trigger another episode.
Ethan no longer knew which explanation to believe.
He had been brought to Westbridge six weeks after his mother’s funeral. Richard told him it was temporary—a quiet place where professionals could help him recover from grief.
Ethan agreed because he could barely sleep. He had nightmares about the night Caroline died and woke believing he had heard her calling from the garage.
The first month became three.
Three months became a year.
Whenever Ethan asked to leave, Dr. Nolan reminded him that he had signed voluntary treatment papers. When he demanded to see the forms, the doctor said legal documents would only increase his anxiety.
Richard visited once a week in the beginning.
Then once a month.
Eventually, he communicated only through staff.
The phone on Ethan’s table was supposed to be his connection to the outside world, but most functions were restricted. He could receive approved calls, listen to music and send messages only to contacts selected by his father.
Margaret’s number was not among them.
Richard told him she had abandoned them after Caroline’s death.
“She blamed you for the accident,” he said. “She told the police your mother was upset because of you.”
Ethan did not remember speaking to the police.
He remembered waking in the hospital with Richard sitting beside him. His father said Ethan had suffered a breakdown after finding Caroline’s damaged car.
He also said Margaret refused to visit.
Ethan believed him because grief had turned his memories into scattered images: flashing lights, a cracked windshield, his mother’s silver bracelet and someone shouting that the security camera needed to be erased.
On his twenty-second birthday, a staff member left his phone unlocked while changing his medication tray.
A notification appeared from an unknown number.
Happy birthday, sweetheart. I love you. I’ll leave lemon cake if you want it. Grandma M.
Ethan stared at the words until his eyes burned.
Margaret had not abandoned him.
She had been searching for him.
Before he could answer, Dr. Nolan entered and took the phone.
“You know unauthorized communication is prohibited.”
“That’s my grandmother.”
“Your father specifically requested no contact.”
“Why?”
“Because she interferes with your recovery.”
Ethan demanded the phone back.
The doctor refused.
An hour later, the device reappeared on his table. Margaret’s message was gone.
Ethan waited until the hallway became quiet. He used the emergency-call function to reach the number he had memorized from the notification.
When Margaret answered, he almost cried.
He managed only one word before someone entered.
Grandma.
A staff supervisor seized the phone and called Richard.
By evening, Ethan’s dosage had been increased. Richard arrived furious and stood over him while he struggled to keep his eyes open.
“You contacted her after everything I told you.”
“She called me.”
“She wants your trust fund.”
“She thought we moved.”
Richard’s expression changed.
It was the smallest hesitation, but Ethan saw it.
“What trust fund?”
His father did not answer.
Caroline had inherited a chain of medical laboratories from her grandfather. Ethan knew she owned shares, but Richard always said the company had failed after her death.
Now Ethan began to wonder whether that was another lie.
While Richard argued with the doctor outside the room, Ethan noticed his phone inside his father’s open briefcase.
The screen displayed a conversation under Ethan’s name.
Messages had been sent to Margaret for nearly two years.
Do not come here.
You make everything worse.
Stay away from us.
Ethan had written none of them.
Richard returned before he could photograph the screen.
But Ethan had seen enough.
May you like
His father had not merely kept Margaret away.
He had used Ethan’s identity to convince her that her grandson hated her.
