Chapter 2 - The EnvelopeDaniel stared at Maya.
The house suddenly felt too small.
“What does that mean?”
Maya quickly closed the canvas bag.
“Nothing.”
“That doesn’t look like nothing.”
She stepped backward.
“You should go back to bed.”
Daniel’s voice hardened.
“Maya.”
She froze.
He pointed at the envelope.
“My name is on it.”
“I know.”
“Who wrote it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I found it inside my things.”
“Where?”
Maya’s eyes filled with fear.
“At the old apartment.”
Daniel looked at the bag.
“You said your landlord locked you out.”
“He did.”
“Then how did you get this?”
She didn’t answer.
Daniel felt the uneasy sensation that something about tonight had been carefully hidden from him.
Before he could ask again, Lily began crying.
Maya rushed to the bedroom.
Daniel followed.
For the next twenty minutes, they focused on the baby.
Eventually Lily fell asleep.
Daniel sat at the kitchen table.
Maya stood across from him.
Finally, she spoke.
“I didn’t know where else to go.”
“That part I understand.”
“I’m not dangerous.”
“I never said you were.”
“But someone thinks you are.”
Daniel looked at the envelope.
“Whoever wrote that knew my name.”
Maya nodded.
“I don’t know how.”
That sentence bothered him more than anything.
Daniel lived a quiet life.
He repaired cars.
Picked up Emma from school.
Paid bills.
Went home.
He wasn’t involved with anyone who would know a woman like Maya.
Or so he thought.
The next morning, Daniel woke to find Maya gone.
The spare bedroom was empty.
The blanket lay folded neatly on the bed.
Lily’s bottle was gone.
So was the canvas bag.
Daniel’s heart dropped.
“Maya?”
No answer.
Emma came running down the hallway.
“Where’s Lily?”
“I don’t know.”
Then Daniel saw something on the kitchen table.
A note.
He unfolded it.
Thank you for last night. I’m sorry. Stay away from us. Please.
Daniel stared at it.
Emma looked up.
“Did they leave?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
But Daniel knew one thing.
He couldn’t ignore what had happened.
He grabbed his coat.
At the grocery store, he found the security guard who had been working the previous night.
“Did you see the woman from yesterday?”
The guard hesitated.
“Maya?”
“Yes.”
The guard glanced around before lowering his voice.
“She wasn’t alone.”
Daniel stiffened.
“What do you mean?”
“About twenty minutes before you arrived, a dark SUV pulled into the far end of the parking lot.”
“Did anyone get out?”
“A man.”
“What did he look like?”
“Tall. Dark jacket. Baseball cap.”
“Did he talk to Maya?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know he was there?”
The guard pulled out his phone.
“I checked the cameras this morning.”
He showed Daniel a grainy frame.
A black SUV.
A man standing beside it.
And Maya sitting against the wall.
The man wasn’t looking at her.
He was looking at Daniel.
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
“How long was he watching?”
“About fifteen minutes.”
Daniel stared at the image.
Then he noticed something else.
The license plate.
The final four numbers were visible.
He knew those numbers.
They belonged to a vehicle owned by a man Daniel had not seen in three years.
A man connected to the worst night of his life.
A man he had assumed was dead.
Daniel whispered the name.
“Michael Voss.”
The guard frowned.
“Who?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
Because Michael Voss had once been Rachel’s older brother.
And three years ago, Michael had disappeared after accusing Daniel of being responsible for Rachel’s death.
Daniel drove home shaking.
When he arrived, his front door was open.
He reached inside his truck for the tire iron.
“Emma!”
No answer.
He ran inside.
The house was empty.
Emma was gone.
Daniel’s heart stopped.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man’s voice spoke calmly.
“You should have kept your gloves.”
Daniel froze.
“What did you do with my daughter?”
A soft laugh.
“We don’t have your daughter.”
Daniel exhaled.
Then the voice continued.
“Not yet.”
The line went dead.
Daniel stared at his phone.
And for the first time, he realized Maya hadn’t run from him.
May you like
She had been running toward him.
Because whatever was chasing her had already known exactly where Daniel lived.
