Chapter 5 - The Woman in the SUVI survived because I ran.
There is no heroic version of it.
No clever escape.
Just instinct.
I dragged Tom behind a concrete pillar while another bullet struck the metal bench where my head had been.
Then I heard tires.
A black SUV tore through the parking lot.
I chased it for three seconds before realizing how useless that was.
The vehicle disappeared.
Police arrived minutes later.
Tom was alive.
Barely.
At the hospital, detectives questioned me.
I told them the truth.
Most of it.
I didn't mention Project Lullaby.
I didn't mention the camera.
I didn't mention my mother's involvement.
Not yet.
When I returned home, Emily was waiting at the front door.
She looked at my face.
Then at the blood on my sleeve.
“What happened?”
“Someone shot Tom.”
She covered her mouth.
“He's alive.”
“Barely.”
She pulled me inside.
Our son was asleep in the nursery.
The house appeared untouched.
Then Emily pointed toward the kitchen table.
The camera was gone.
I stopped.
“I left it here.”
“I know.”
“Who took it?”
Emily's face tightened.
“I don't know.”
I checked every lock.
Every window.
Every room.
Nothing.
Then I noticed something.
The bathroom door was open.
Inside, the mirror had been wiped clean except for one word.
Written backward in red lipstick:
MARA.
Emily stepped behind me.
“I told you.”
I looked at her.
“She was the woman in the photograph.”
“Yes.”
“Who is she?”
Emily swallowed.
“She was my father's assistant.”
“That doesn't explain anything.”
“She knew about Project Lullaby.”
“Then why did you meet her?”
“Because she said my father left something for me.”
“What?”
Emily closed her eyes.
“A list.”
“What list?”
“Children.”
I stared at her.
“What children?”
“Babies.”
A cold silence filled the room.
“Why?”
“Because they were being monitored from birth.”
“By your father?”
“No.”
Emily opened her eyes.
“By people who paid him.”
I looked toward the nursery.
“Our son?”
She nodded.
“Ethan's name was on the list before he was born.”
I took a step backward.
“How?”
“He wasn't supposed to be born naturally.”
I stared at her.
She began crying.
“Daniel, when I got pregnant, someone contacted me.”
“Who?”
“A woman.”
“Mara?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Emily wiped her face.
“She knew your mother's name.”
A sound came from the nursery.
The baby monitor clicked.
Then a voice came through the speaker.
A woman's voice.
Calm.
Close.
“Emily.”
My wife froze.
The speaker crackled again.
“I'm disappointed in you.”
Emily whispered:
“She found us.”
I stared at the monitor.
The voice continued.
“And Daniel?”
The words became softer.
“Your mother isn't your biggest problem.”
May you like
The monitor went silent.
Then the nursery door slowly closed by itself.
