Chapter 6 - The Man Behind EvanThe recording stopped before we heard the name clearly.
Static swallowed the last syllable.
Daniel cursed under his breath.
Marcus replayed it.
Again.
And again.
Nothing.
The audio was too damaged.
But one sound remained.
A door closing.
Then footsteps.
Mom had recorded the message in the basement.
Which meant she knew she was in danger.
We searched the room.
Behind a broken cabinet, Daniel found a second compartment.
Inside was a notebook.
Twenty-eight years of dates.
Payments.
Names.
Initials.
Mom had been tracking everything.
Not because she understood the system.
Because she was afraid of it.
One page was circled.
E.C.
Evan Carter.
Beside it:
Received first payment.
My stomach twisted.
“He started years ago.”
Marcus nodded.
Daniel flipped farther.
Then froze.
Another name.
D.V.
I stared.
“Who is D.V.?”
Marcus didn't answer.
Daniel looked at him.
“You know.”
Marcus swallowed.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“My former supervisor.”
I stared.
“Your supervisor?”
“David Voss.”
Marcus explained that Voss had overseen several financial crime investigations.
Including Project Hollow.
“He retired fifteen years ago.”
Daniel stared at the notebook.
“Did he really?”
Marcus looked up sharply.
“What do you mean?”
Daniel pointed to another entry.
A bank transfer.
Five years ago.
To an account connected to Voss.
Marcus's face went blank.
“He was supposed to be dead.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
Marcus took out his phone.
He searched.
Then showed us an obituary.
David Voss had supposedly died from cancer seven years earlier.
But the account transfers told another story.
He had been receiving money for at least three years.
Daniel sat down.
“Then Project Hollow didn't end.”
“No,” Marcus said.
“It changed.”
Before we could say more, headlights appeared outside.
A black SUV stopped at the end of the driveway.
Marcus immediately turned off the lights.
“Everyone down.”
We crouched.
The vehicle remained there.
Engine running.
No one got out.
Then it drove away.
Daniel waited.
“Could be nothing.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever was watching this house wanted us to know they were watching.”
My phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
You found the basement.
Then another.
Now stop.
And a third.
Or your mother won't make it through the week.
I stared at the screen.
Daniel took it from me.
Marcus called the number.
Disconnected.
Then Mom's phone rang.
We all froze.
She was at the shelter.
Daniel answered.
It was a nurse.
“Your mother is missing.”
My entire body went cold.
“What?”
“She was in the common room ten minutes ago.”
“Did anyone see her leave?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
The nurse hesitated.
“She thought it was you.”
Daniel and I looked at each other.
A man had come in.
He knew Mom's name.
He claimed to be family.
And he took her.
Police arrived in minutes.
Security footage showed the man clearly.
Gray suit.
Silver watch.
Peter Lang.
But Peter Lang had supposedly disappeared eleven years ago.
Marcus watched the footage twice.
Then whispered:
“He's alive.”
I asked:
“Where did he take her?”
Marcus pointed to the screen.
The SUV had a distinctive license plate.
Daniel typed it into a database.
His face changed.
“What?”
“The vehicle belongs to…”
He stopped.
“Say it.”
“It belongs to a law firm.”
“Whose?”
May you like
Daniel looked at me.
“Evan's attorney.”
