Chapter 5 - Darkness swallowed the house.Daniel reached for his sidearm.
I didn't move.
We listened.
One footstep.
Then another.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Someone was downstairs.
Daniel whispered, “Back door?”
“Kitchen.”
“Windows?”
“Two in the living room.”
“Cameras?”
“Three.”
He looked at me.
“Three?”
“I installed them after Logan moved in.”
A faint smile touched his face.
“Smart.”
I pointed to the hallway.
“You take the kitchen.”
“What about you?”
“Upstairs.”
“You're going to clear the second floor alone?”
“Yes.”
“That wasn't the answer I wanted.”
“It wasn't a question.”
We split.
I moved silently.
At the end of the hallway, I heard breathing.
Not downstairs.
Behind me.
I turned.
Nobody.
Then something moved behind the bedroom door.
I opened it.
Empty.
The window was open.
Curtain moving.
I checked the floor.
Fresh mud.
Someone had entered from outside.
But the attacker wasn't here.
They had wanted me to think they were.
I walked back toward the stairs.
Daniel appeared below.
“Nothing.”
“Same.”
Then we heard a crash from the kitchen.
We ran.
A chair had fallen.
The back door was open.
On the floor sat a small envelope.
Inside was a Polaroid.
Evan.
Alive.
Blindfolded.
Sitting in a chair.
My hand tightened around the photograph.
On the back:
24 HOURS.
Daniel cursed.
“Claire.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“You need to breathe.”
“I am breathing.”
“No.”
He pointed at my hands.
They were shaking.
I looked down.
He was right.
I closed my eyes.
Four seconds in.
Four seconds out.
The shaking stopped.
Daniel watched me.
“You still know how to do that.”
“I never forgot.”
“Then let's remember everything.”
He opened a folder from his jacket.
“Adrian Cole wasn't killed.”
I stared.
“Explain.”
“His death certificate was forged.”
“By whom?”
“Army intelligence.”
“Why?”
“Because he became dangerous.”
“To us?”
“To everyone.”
Daniel showed me another photograph.
Cole.
Older.
Gray beard.
Standing beside Victor Whitmore.
My stomach twisted.
“Victor knew him.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Before you moved here.”
I looked at the photograph.
Something about the image felt wrong.
Not because of Victor.
Because of the location.
The house behind them.
I recognized it.
Juniper Hollow Drive.
My house.
I looked at Daniel.
“That picture was taken here.”
He nodded.
“Seven years ago.”
I stared at my home.
Someone had been watching it long before I arrived.
Then Logan called.
Daniel answered.
“Where are you?”
A pause.
Then Logan's voice.
“On the east side of the neighborhood.”
“What happened?”
Another pause.
“I found something.”
I grabbed the phone.
“Where?”
“Old Whitmore property.”
“Stay there.”
“I already saw someone.”
“Who?”
Logan whispered.
“He looks like the man in your video.”
My stomach dropped.
“Cole?”
“Yes.”
Daniel took the phone.
“Logan, listen carefully. Don't approach him.”
“I already did.”
“Why?”
“He knew my name.”
Daniel's face changed.
“What did he say?”
Logan hesitated.
Then:
“He said, ‘Tell your father his debt is due.’”
The call ended.
We drove there.
The old Whitmore property was deserted.
A massive stone mansion sat behind iron gates.
Logan stood near the garage.
No father.
No guards.
No cameras.
He looked at me.
“I heard something inside.”
I opened the garage door.
Darkness.
Then a faint electronic beep.
A red light blinked on the wall.
Security system.
Except it wasn't security.
It was a countdown.
00:19:43.
Daniel stared.
“What is that?”
I walked closer.
A monitor switched on.
Victor Whitmore appeared.
He sat in a leather chair.
Perfect suit.
Perfect posture.
Perfect smile.
“Colonel Bennett.”
I stared at the screen.
“You have my son.”
Victor smiled.
“Not yet.”
My blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
“He is safe.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere you won't find him.”
I stepped closer.
“What do you want?”
Victor folded his hands.
“The ledger.”
“I don't have it.”
“I know.”
“Then release my son.”
Victor smiled.
“That would be simple.”
“What is the complication?”
He leaned forward.
“The ledger isn't the secret.”
I frowned.
“What is?”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“Who wrote it.”
The monitor went black.
Then another screen came alive.
A satellite image of Juniper Hollow.
My street.
My house.
A red circle around one location.
Not my house.
Logan's.
Then the words appeared:
TARGET: LOGAN WHITMORE
Logan stared at the screen.
“Why me?”
Daniel looked at me.
I already knew.
Because Evan had discovered something.
Something connecting Logan's family to the Army operation.
Something that could destroy them.
Then the countdown reached zero.
May you like
Every light in the mansion turned red.
And the front doors locked automatically.
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