Chapter 2 - "The envelope?"Caleb's voice was quiet.

Too quiet.

I knew immediately that he had noticed my expression.

Tyler noticed too.

He smiled.

For the first time that night, I understood something terrifying.

The stolen money wasn't the secret.

It was leverage.

Tyler had been stealing because he knew there was something else he could use against me.

"What envelope?" Caleb asked.

I couldn't answer.

Marlene stepped forward.

"Caleb, this isn't the time."

"Then when is the time?"

He turned to me.

"Did you hide money from me?"

I swallowed.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I was scared."

"Of what?"

"Of this."

I pointed toward Tyler.

His smile disappeared.

I walked upstairs.

Caleb followed.

My hands shook as I opened the bedroom closet.

Behind a stack of old winter clothes was a small lockbox.

I pulled it down.

Caleb stared at it.

"You've had that here this whole time?"

"Yes."

I opened it.

Inside was an envelope.

Thick.

Sealed.

And beside it was a flash drive.

Caleb looked at me.

"What is that?"

"Everything I found."

He frowned.

"Everything about what?"

"About the money."

I handed him the flash drive.

"I started investigating after the thefts."

He plugged it into his laptop.

Folders appeared.

Bank statements.

Screenshots.

Photos.

Names.

Dates.

Transactions.

His expression slowly changed.

"What am I looking at?"

"Payments."

"From Tyler?"

"Some."

"And the others?"

"I don't know."

He clicked on a spreadsheet.

There were dozens of transactions.

Small amounts at first.

Then larger.

Thousands of dollars.

All routed through different accounts.

"What is this account?"

"I don't know."

"Why do you have it?"

"Because one of the transfers was made using our home address."

Caleb stopped.

He looked at me.

"What?"

"I found the address attached to one of the accounts."

"That's impossible."

"That's what I thought."

He kept scrolling.

Then he saw a name.

Marlene.

His mother.

He stared at it.

"No."

I said nothing.

"Mom doesn't have this account."

"That's what I thought too."

He clicked again.

More transactions appeared.

Payments from an insurance company.

A construction company.

A legal office.

And one payment from a company called Northstar Holdings.

Caleb stood.

"What is Northstar?"

"I don't know."

Then he noticed the dates.

Every payment occurred shortly after someone in our family had filed a claim, taken out a loan, or reported a loss.

His face went pale.

"Tyler didn't steal from us because he needed money."

"I know."

"He was taking cash because someone was paying him."

"I think so."

A sound came from downstairs.

The front door slammed.

We rushed down.

Tyler was gone.

Marlene stood in the hallway.

She looked at Caleb.

Then at me.

"Where is the drive?"

Caleb stepped forward.

"Why do you care?"

She didn't answer.

He asked again.

"Why do you care?"

Marlene's lips trembled.

Then she said something that made my blood turn cold.

"Because if that drive is what I think it is..."

She looked toward the window.

"Tyler isn't the one you're in danger from."

That night, at 2:17 a.m., my phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

One message.

STOP WATCHING THE CAMERAS.

A second message appeared.

THE NEXT THING THEY STEAL WON'T BE MONEY.

Then the camera notification on my phone flashed.

MOTION DETECTED: KITCHEN.

I opened the live feed.

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