Chapter 5 - For the first time since returning home, I saw genuine fear in my mother's eyes.Not fear for Paige.

Fear for herself.

“Who took her?”

She shook her head.

“I don't know.”

“Where is Paige?”

“I don't know.”

“Who's behind Blackridge?”

“I don't know.”

I slammed my palm against the counter.

“Stop lying to me.”

She flinched.

Gwen appeared in the doorway.

“David.”

I looked at her.

“Stay upstairs.”

“No.”

“Gwen.”

“I've been hiding for two years.”

She stepped closer.

“I'm done hiding.”

My mother stared at us.

“You don't understand what you're dealing with.”

“Then explain it.”

She said nothing.

I grabbed my jacket.

My mother suddenly shouted:

“Your sister isn't the victim!”

I stopped.

“What?”

“She helped them.”

Gwen went pale.

My mother continued.

“Paige was the one who brought Blackridge into this house.”

I turned slowly.

“Why?”

“Because she was in debt.”

“How much?”

“Enough to destroy her.”

“Where?”

My mother shook her head.

“I don't know.”

I stared at the envelope.

The photograph.

The message.

Whoever had Paige knew exactly how to manipulate me.

They wanted me moving.

They wanted me angry.

They wanted me desperate.

That was usually when mistakes happened.

So I didn't make one.

I took the photograph and studied it.

The background was plain.

Concrete wall.

Single overhead light.

No windows.

But there was something in the corner.

A faint red stripe.

I zoomed in.

A logo.

A red diagonal line through a black circle.

I had seen it before.

On an old military transport vehicle.

Blackridge's private security division.

I knew where they operated.

An abandoned pharmaceutical plant twenty miles outside town.

I drove there alone.

The facility had been shut down years ago.

The front gate was chained.

I parked away from the property.

Then I went in on foot.

The building was silent.

I moved through corridors.

Dark.

Cold.

Empty.

Then I heard voices.

I followed them.

A door was slightly open.

Inside, two men stood beside a table.

Paige was tied to a chair.

One man said:

“Where's David?”

Paige laughed.

“You'll never get him.”

The second man struck her.

I nearly lost control.

Then I noticed something.

Paige wasn't crying.

She was smiling.

She looked directly toward the door.

Toward me.

Trap.

I backed away.

Too late.

Lights exploded on.

Men stepped from the shadows.

I ran.

Bullets shattered the wall behind me.

I dove through a doorway.

Rolled.

Returned fire.

One man dropped.

I sprinted through the corridor.

I found an exterior door.

Locked.

I kicked it twice.

The lock broke.

I escaped into the woods.

Then I stopped.

My phone rang.

Paige.

I answered.

“You're getting slow.”

I froze.

“You're alive.”

“Obviously.”

“What happened?”

“I wanted to see whether you'd follow.”

“Why?”

“Because I needed to know something.”

“What?”

“Whether you're really David.”

I stared into the darkness.

“Explain.”

“You're not the only one who came home.”

My blood went cold.

“What does that mean?”

“You'll find out.”

“Paige.”

She laughed.

Then her voice changed.

“David, listen to me.”

I heard genuine fear.

“You can't trust Mom.”

“I know.”

“You can't trust Gwen.”

My chest tightened.

“What?”

“She was never just a victim.”

The call ended.

I stared at the phone.

Then another number called.

Unknown.

I answered.

A man's voice spoke.

“You're close.”

“Who are you?”

“Someone who wants the truth.”

“What truth?”

“Your wife knows why you were targeted.”

“Why?”

“You were never supposed to survive your last deployment.”

I froze.

“What?”

“You saw something you weren't supposed to see.”

“What did I see?”

“You don't remember.”

“Then tell me.”

“You'll remember soon.”

The call ended.

I stood alone in the woods.

Then I heard footsteps behind me.

I turned.

Gwen was standing there.

She was crying.

“David.”

“How did you find me?”

“I followed you.”

“Why?”

“Because there's something I need to tell you.”

I waited.

She whispered:

“You didn't come home because the military released you.”

“What?”

“You came home because someone wanted you here.”

“Who?”

She looked toward the road.

“Your mother.”

I stared at her.

“Why?”

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Gwen took a shaky breath.

“Because she needs you to die.”