Chapter 2 - THE FIRST WARNINGI didn't sleep that night.
I sat beside Garrett's bed with the note clenched in my hand.
He watched me quietly.
“Are you leaving?” he asked.
The question surprised me.
“No.”
“You should.”
“I've been threatened before.”
“Not by my family.”
I looked at the note again.
“Who else knows you can move?”
“No one.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then whoever left this note knew I was with you.”
Garrett nodded.
“That means they were watching us.”
The thought made my skin crawl.
The next morning, I searched the bedroom.
Behind paintings.
Under furniture.
Inside vents.
Nothing.
Then I noticed a tiny hole in the smoke detector.
A camera.
I stared at it.
Garrett followed my gaze.
He didn't look surprised.
“I suspected.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know whose camera it was.”
I grabbed a chair.
Garrett stopped me.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“If they realize I found it, they'll change methods.”
He was right.
We left it untouched.
At breakfast, Douglas sat across from Garrett.
His face was cheerful.
Almost too cheerful.
“How did you sleep?”
Garrett stared at him.
“As well as a man who can't walk can.”
Douglas laughed.
“I've arranged your physical therapy for this afternoon.”
“I don't need it.”
Douglas's smile vanished.
“You need everything right now.”
The room went silent.
Gertrude placed a cup of coffee beside me.
“You're getting used to the house?”
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“You'll learn quickly that Garrett can be... difficult.”
I looked at her.
“Difficult?”
“He doesn't always understand how much we do for him.”
Garrett slowly turned his wheelchair toward the window.
I caught something in his expression.
Fear.
Not anger.
Fear.
Later, while I helped him with his medication, he stopped me.
“Don't give me that.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn't take it yesterday.”
“What happens if you don't?”
“I can move.”
My stomach dropped.
“The medication stops your muscles?”
“Not completely. It makes movement weaker.”
I examined the bottle.
The label looked normal.
Garrett lowered his voice.
“Every week, my dose increases.”
“Who controls your medication?”
“My brother.”
I stared at the bottle.
“Then we need to have it tested.”
“I already did.”
“And?”
Garrett looked at me.
“It contains something it shouldn't.”
He handed me an envelope.
Inside was a lab report.
A muscle relaxant.
An extremely high concentration.
“Why haven't you gone to the police?”
“Because the last time I tried, the detective assigned to my case had dinner with Douglas that same night.”
My blood went cold.
“This is bigger than your family.”
“Yes.”
That afternoon, I began noticing things.
The staff avoided Garrett.
The security guards reported directly to Douglas.
The house phones had been replaced.
There were no cameras in the hallway outside Douglas's office.
Only inside Garrett's rooms.
It was backward.
Unless the cameras weren't for security.
They were for control.
That evening, Garrett asked me to take him to the library.
He waited until the room was empty.
Then he reached behind a bookshelf and pressed a hidden latch.
A section of wood slid aside.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
My mouth fell open.
“How did you find this?”
“My father built it.”
We entered.
The passage led to a small room behind the walls.
A desk stood inside.
Dust covered everything except one drawer.
Garrett opened it.
Inside were financial documents.
Bank transfers.
Offshore accounts.
Company contracts.
He picked up one file.
“This is why I think I was attacked.”
I turned the page.
Hundreds of millions had disappeared from Corbin Holdings over three years.
The money had moved through shell companies.
Then I saw one company name.
Miller Strategic Consulting.
My heart stopped.
“That's my ex-husband's company.”
Garrett looked at me.
“You know Christopher Miller?”
“My ex-husband.”
Garrett stared at the document.
“Rebecca...”
“What?”
He pointed at the signature.
The transfer had been approved two weeks before Garrett's accident.
“Your husband wasn't having an affair with Brenda because he fell in love.”
I couldn't breathe.
“He was being used.”
“Used for what?”
Garrett looked at me.
“To move money.”
A sound came from the corridor.
Footsteps.
Someone was outside.
The hidden door began to open.
Garrett grabbed my wrist.
“Don't move.”
The door opened three inches.
A woman's voice whispered from the darkness.
“I know you're in there.”
May you like
Then she said my name.
“Rebecca.”
