Chapter 4 - We left the restaurant through a private entrance.There were three black SUVs waiting.
Mom sat beside me in the middle vehicle.
Vincent sat across from us.
His guards filled the front and rear.
The city outside looked normal.
People walked.
Cars moved.
Traffic lights changed.
But nothing felt normal anymore.
Mom kept staring at me.
Finally, she whispered:
“Rory, why did you leave the office?”
I looked down.
“I was hungry.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You could have gotten hurt.”
“I thought Vincent could help.”
Vincent looked away.
Mom wiped her face.
“You don't understand these people.”
Vincent said quietly:
“She understands more than most adults.”
Mom looked at him.
“That isn't a compliment.”
“No.”
He paused.
“It isn't.”
The SUV turned onto a private road.
Mom noticed.
“Where are we going?”
“My house.”
“I don't want to bring my daughter into this.”
Vincent looked at her.
“Mrs. Carter, you're already in it.”
We arrived at an enormous mansion behind iron gates.
I had never seen anything like it.
Mom didn't look impressed.
She looked frightened.
Vincent led us inside.
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
A woman in a dark suit approached.
“Mr. Kane, the security sweep is complete.”
“Anyone?”
“No one.”
Vincent nodded.
“Good.”
Mom looked around.
“Why help us?”
Vincent stopped.
That question seemed to hit somewhere deeper than she expected.
“Because I've seen what happens when powerful men realize nobody is watching them.”
He walked away.
Mom whispered:
“Who is he?”
I shrugged.
“The scary guy.”
For the first time that evening, she laughed.
Then a guard rushed into the room.
“Boss.”
Vincent turned.
“The flash drive is encrypted.”
“Can you crack it?”
“No.”
“Then find someone who can.”
The guard hesitated.
“There is another problem.”
“What?”
“The files aren't stored on the drive.”
Vincent frowned.
“Then what are we looking at?”
“A map.”
“What kind?”
The guard handed him a tablet.
Vincent stared at the screen.
It showed Chicago.
Seventy-seven locations were marked in red.
He zoomed in.
The first location was Sterling's Bistro.
The second was a bank.
The third was an apartment building.
The fourth was a hospital.
Then a school.
Then a courthouse.
Mom moved closer.
“Why are there so many?”
Vincent didn't answer.
The guard scrolled.
At the bottom of the screen was a title.
THE 77 LIST.
Vincent stared at it.
Mom whispered:
“What's on the list?”
The guard swallowed.
“People.”
“Which people?”
“All of them have one thing in common.”
Vincent looked up.
“What?”
“They have worked for Sterling's companies.”
Mom's face went pale.
“I'm on it?”
The guard's silence was answer enough.
Vincent took the tablet.
He scrolled faster.
Names.
Dates.
Addresses.
Payments.
Then he stopped.
His finger froze.
“What?”
Mom stepped closer.
Vincent looked directly at her.
“Your husband.”
Mom's expression collapsed.
“What?”
“Daniel Carter.”
She shook her head.
“My husband died six years ago.”
Vincent looked at the screen.
“According to this file, he didn't.”
Mom stared at the name.
“No.”
The room went silent.
Vincent opened the attached photograph.
It was blurry.
Old.
Taken from a distance.
A man walked out of a warehouse.
Mom's hands trembled.
Even before the image loaded fully, she knew.
“That can't be him.”
Vincent zoomed in.
It was Daniel.
Alive.
Standing beside David Sterling.
Mom stepped backward.
“Where?”
Vincent read the location.
“Chicago.”
“When was the photograph taken?”
“Three months ago.”
Mom sat down.
I looked at her.
“Mom?”
She didn't hear me.
Vincent slowly lowered the tablet.
Then another alert appeared.
A message.
YOU FOUND DANIEL.
A second message followed.
NOW ASK WHY HE LEFT YOU.
Mom gasped.
I heard something fall upstairs.
Every guard reached for a weapon.
Vincent looked toward the staircase.
Then toward the hallway.
May you like
“Someone's inside.”
The lights went out.
Related Stories
