CHAPTER 2 The Man Outside the Window
Laura's fingers tightened around the curtain until her knuckles turned white.
The rocking horse stood motionless beneath the pale glow of the backyard lights.
It hadn't been there before.
She knew every inch of their yard.
Eduardo hated clutter.
He would never allow an old toy to sit outside overnight.
Yet there it was.
Weathered.
Its faded red paint peeling away.
Its wooden eyes staring directly toward Daniel's bedroom.
Almost as if someone had placed it there on purpose.
Daniel buried his face against her shoulder.
"Mom... he was standing right there."
His tiny finger pointed toward the maple tree beside the fence.
"He was looking at me."
Laura swallowed.
"What did he look like?"
"I couldn't see."
"Was he wearing black?"
Daniel nodded.
"And... he smiled."
A cold wave traveled through Laura's body.
Children often imagined monsters.
Daniel never did.
He wasn't that kind of child.
He remembered details.
Always.
She kissed the top of his head.
"It's okay."
But the words sounded hollow even to herself.
Eduardo rushed into the room moments later, pretending to be startled.
"What happened?"
Daniel immediately hugged him.
"There was a man outside."
Eduardo walked to the window.
Looked into the yard for barely two seconds.
Then shrugged.
"Probably someone walking past."
Laura watched him carefully.
Walking past?
Their backyard was surrounded by a two-meter wall.
No one could simply walk past.
Yet Eduardo didn't seem surprised by the rocking horse.
Not even slightly.
Instead, he gently rubbed Daniel's hair.
"Bad dreams happen."
"It wasn't a dream!" Daniel cried.
Laura expected Eduardo to comfort him.
Instead he looked at Laura.
"You've been stressed lately."
The sentence sounded innocent.
But she heard the hidden meaning.
You're frightening him.
She forced herself to stay calm.
"I'll check outside."
"I'll do it," Eduardo replied quickly.
Too quickly.
He grabbed a flashlight and headed downstairs.
Laura waited exactly ten seconds before following.
She found him standing beside the rocking horse.
The white envelope had disappeared.
Eduardo turned when he heard her footsteps.
"Nothing."
He smiled.
"Neighborhood kids playing a prank."
"Where's the envelope?"
"What envelope?"
"The one tied around the horse."
He frowned.
"There wasn't one."
Lie.
She had seen it clearly.
Large black letters.
Impossible to miss.
Eduardo walked past her carrying the rocking horse toward the garage.
"I'll throw this away tomorrow."
"No."
He stopped.
"I'll keep it."
His smile faded for the briefest moment.
"Why?"
"It belonged to Daniel."
"It didn't."
She stepped closer.
"Maybe not. But I still want it."
For two long seconds neither of them moved.
Then Eduardo laughed.
"Fine."
He placed the horse beside the garage wall.
The envelope was still nowhere to be seen.
Laura barely slept.
At 5:42 a.m., before sunrise, she quietly slipped outside while Eduardo showered.
The rocking horse remained exactly where he'd left it.
She examined every inch.
Nothing.
Then she turned it over.
Taped beneath the wooden seat...
was another envelope.
Smaller.
Hidden.
Someone had expected Eduardo to remove the first one.
But not to search underneath.
Her pulse quickened.
Inside was a single USB flash drive.
No note.
No explanation.
Just a black memory stick.
She hurried back inside.
By eight o'clock, Eduardo had left for work.
"I'll probably be late," he said while knotting his tie.
"Lots of meetings."
Laura smiled.
"Drive safely."
He kissed her.
For the first time in fourteen years...
She felt nothing.
Only disgust.
The moment his car disappeared down the street, Laura called Elena.
Twenty minutes later, Elena arrived carrying a laptop.
"No police yet," she warned.
"If this contains what we think it does, we need copies first."
Laura inserted the USB drive.
One folder appeared.
ARCHIVE
Inside were dozens of files.
Photos.
Bank statements.
Voice recordings.
Videos.
The earliest file dated back...
Eleven months.
Laura opened the first recording.
Static.
Then Eduardo's voice.
"...she'll never suspect anything."
Another voice answered.
Silvana.
"Are you sure she'll sign?"
"She signs everything I put in front of her."
Both of them laughed.
Laura felt sick.
Elena immediately copied every file to two encrypted drives.
"Don't open them one by one," she said.
"Let's preserve the originals."
But Laura couldn't stop herself.
She clicked another recording.
This time the conversation sounded different.
More serious.
Silvana whispered,
"What if Daniel tells her?"
Eduardo answered calmly.
"He won't."
"Children talk."
"I know how to keep him quiet."
Laura stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
"If he says anything..."
Eduardo paused.
"...people will think he's imagining things."
Silvana laughed softly.
"You're terrible."
"No," Eduardo replied.
"I'm careful."
Laura slammed the laptop shut.
Her hands shook uncontrollably.
Daniel hadn't imagined any of it.
Eduardo had already planned for his own son not to be believed.
Elena looked pale.
"This changes everything."
"We go to the police?"
"Not yet."
Laura stared at her.
"Not yet?"
"They'll ask where this came from."
Laura looked toward the hidden USB drive.
"I don't even know who sent it."
"Exactly."
Elena leaned closer.
"Someone inside Eduardo's circle is helping you."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"But if we move too early..."
"They disappear."
Laura nodded slowly.
She hated that Elena was right.
That afternoon Laura picked Daniel up from school.
His teacher smiled.
"He had a good day."
Daniel climbed into the car without speaking.
Only after they drove away did he whisper,
"Mom..."
"Yes?"
"The man came again."
Laura slammed on the brakes.
"What?"
"He wasn't outside."
"Then where?"
Daniel looked through the windshield.
"He was inside school."
Every muscle in Laura's body tightened.
"He asked if you were still taking your trip."
Laura's voice became barely audible.
"What did you tell him?"
"I said..."
Daniel hesitated.
"...that Mommy canceled it."
Laura felt the blood drain from her face.
"Did he say anything?"
Daniel nodded slowly.
"He looked angry."
"And then?"
"He said..."
Daniel swallowed.
"...'Tell your mother plans can change.'"
Laura immediately drove back to the school.
The security office reviewed surveillance footage.
A tall man wearing a maintenance uniform appeared near the playground.
Baseball cap.
Sunglasses.
Face partially hidden.
He spoke briefly with Daniel.
Then walked calmly toward the parking lot.
Seconds later...
He disappeared behind a delivery truck.
No camera captured him leaving.
Almost as if he'd vanished.
The principal apologized repeatedly.
"We don't know who he is."
Laura requested a copy of the footage.
The principal agreed.
As she signed the paperwork, her phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
Again.
This time there was only a photograph.
Taken seconds earlier.
It showed Laura standing inside the school office.
Holding the surveillance request form.
The photo had been taken through the office window.
Beneath it was a text message.
YOU'RE LOOKING THE WRONG WAY.
Laura spun toward the parking lot.
Nothing.
Cars.
Parents.
Children.
Normal.
Completely normal.
Then another message arrived.
CHECK YOUR HOUSE.
Laura's heart nearly stopped.
She grabbed Daniel's hand.
They raced to the car.
The fifteen-minute drive home felt endless.
As she turned onto her street, flashing police lights illuminated the neighborhood.
Two patrol cars.
An ambulance.
Yellow tape stretched across the entrance to her driveway.
Neighbors stood outside whispering.
Laura jumped from the car before the engine stopped.
An officer stepped forward.
"Ma'am, are you Laura Mendoza?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry."
"What happened?"
The officer hesitated.
"We received a report of a home invasion."
Laura looked toward the front door.
It stood wide open.
Every room inside had been ransacked.
Furniture overturned.
Drawers emptied.
Glass shattered.
Nothing valuable appeared to be missing.
Whoever had entered...
hadn't come to steal.
They had come to search.
Or send a message.
Laura slowly walked into the destroyed living room.
On the dining table sat a single untouched object.
A framed family photograph.
She picked it up.
The glass had been carefully removed.
Behind the picture...
Someone had slipped another handwritten note.
Only four words.
WE FOUND THE USB.
Laura's blood turned to ice.
She still had the USB.
So if they thought they had found it...
Then someone else...
Someone inside Eduardo's own conspiracy...
Had made a move before she did.
And whoever that person was...
May you like
Was now in even greater danger.
End of Chapter 2
