CHAPTER 6 — The Midnight Trap
The next morning, Detective Carter told no one about the photograph.
Not even the police chief.
If there truly was a traitor inside the department, every careless word could put Sofia in even greater danger.
Instead, he quietly assembled a small team of officers he had trusted for years.
Together, they prepared a trap.
The plan was simple.
The media would announce that Sofia and her parents had been moved to a secure safe house outside the city.
In reality...
They never left.
Plainclothes officers surrounded the neighborhood.
Hidden cameras watched every entrance.
Unmarked vehicles blended into the quiet streets.
Everyone waited.
Nothing happened during the day.
Nothing happened after sunset.
Midnight came.
The neighborhood was silent.
Then...
One camera detected movement.
A dark figure climbed over a backyard fence with the confidence of someone who had done this before.
He wore black gloves.
A hood covered his face.
He carried no flashlight.
He already knew the layout of the property.
Watching from the surveillance van, Detective Carter whispered,
"He's here."
Officers held their positions.
The stranger slowly approached Sofia's bedroom window.
He reached into his pocket...
...and pulled out a small electronic device.
Within seconds, the home's alarm system went dark.
Carter's eyes widened.
"Impossible..."
Only someone with inside information could have disabled it.
The stranger carefully opened the window and slipped inside.
He took only three steps before every light in the bedroom exploded on at once.
"POLICE! DON'T MOVE!"
The room filled with armed officers.
The man tried to escape through the window—
—but another team was already waiting outside.
He was tackled to the ground and handcuffed within seconds.
Everyone believed the nightmare was finally over.
Until Detective Carter pulled off the suspect's hood.
The entire team stood frozen.
It wasn't the man who had followed Sofia.
It was the police officer from the old photograph.
The trusted officer looked up with a chilling smile.
"You caught the wrong hunter."
May you like
"The real one..."
"...is already inside your station."
