CHAPTER 5 — "The CEO Opened the Envelope... and Found a Photo That Shouldn't Exist."
The words echoed in Olivia's mind long after midnight.
"She is the evidence."
She sat alone in her penthouse, unable to sleep.
Emily had finally drifted off on the couch, clutching the old stuffed bear she carried everywhere since losing her favorite rabbit after the accident.
Olivia gently covered her daughter with a blanket.
Then she walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Chicago.
Someone believed her little girl was in danger.
Not because of what Emily had done...
But because of what Emily had seen.
For three years, Olivia had blamed herself for the crash.
Now, for the first time, another possibility crept into her thoughts.
What if the accident had never been an accident at all?
Across town, Daniel sat alone in his garage.
The sealed envelope lay on the workbench.
His fingers trembled.
He had promised himself he would never open it unless there was no other choice.
Tonight felt like that night.
He carefully broke the seal.
Inside were only three things.
A faded photograph.
A handwritten letter.
And a small silver USB drive.
Daniel picked up the photograph first.
The color had begun to fade with age.
Rain streaked across the image, but the faces were still recognizable.
His breathing stopped.
There was Olivia's SUV, moments before the collision.
There was the red traffic light.
And behind Olivia's vehicle...
Parked at the curb...
Was the same black SUV that had been watching the playground earlier that day.
Daniel whispered,
"No..."
The license plate was perfectly visible.
Three years ago.
The exact same vehicle.
The handwritten letter was short.
It wasn't addressed to the police.
It wasn't addressed to Olivia.
It was addressed to Daniel.
If you're reading this, I was right to be afraid.
The crash on Highway 14 was staged.
Someone changed the traffic light sequence that morning.
I found proof, but I was followed before I could hand it to the authorities.
If anything happens to me, trust only Olivia Hayes... and the little girl.
Emily saw the driver's face.
She just doesn't know she remembers it yet.
—Marcus Reed
Daniel slowly lowered the letter.
His worst fear had just become reality.
At 6:15 the next morning, Olivia's phone rang.
It was Detective Sarah Collins.
The same detective who had handled the accident three years earlier.
"Mrs. Hayes..."
Her voice sounded unusually tense.
"I need you to come downtown."
"Why?"
"I'm afraid there's been an incident."
Olivia's stomach tightened.
"Marcus Reed?"
A pause.
"How did you know that name?"
Olivia didn't answer.
The detective sighed.
"He was found dead in his office early this morning."
Olivia closed her eyes.
The phone almost slipped from her hand.
Detective Collins continued,
"It appears to be a burglary that turned violent."
Olivia remembered the crash she had heard over the phone.
It hadn't been a coincidence.
She whispered,
"He called me before he died."
Silence.
Then Detective Collins asked quietly,
"What did he tell you?"
Olivia looked toward the sleeping Emily.
"He said..."
"...the accident wasn't an accident."
Another long silence.
Finally the detective spoke.
"Mrs. Hayes..."
"I think we should meet somewhere other than the police station."
Olivia frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know who I can trust anymore."
The call ended.
An hour later, Olivia received another message.
This one contained no words.
Only a photograph.
Her heart nearly stopped.
It was taken through the window of Emily's bedroom.
The picture had clearly been taken during the night.
Emily was asleep.
Someone had been standing outside, watching her.
A second message arrived.
STOP DIGGING.
Then another.
NEXT TIME WE WON'T JUST WATCH.
Olivia rushed into Emily's room.
The bedroom window was locked.
Nothing appeared disturbed.
Yet someone had somehow taken the photograph.
She immediately called Daniel.
He answered on the first ring.
"Don't say anything," he interrupted.
"Just listen."
Olivia froze.
"I think they're listening to our phones."
Her pulse quickened.
"I got a message."
"So did I."
"What did yours say?"
Daniel's voice became grim.
"They know about Marcus."
"And they know about us."
Before Olivia could reply, Daniel added,
"I'm coming to your apartment."
"No—"
"It's too late."
"What?"
"I think I'm being followed."
The call suddenly disconnected.
Forty minutes later, Daniel's old pickup truck pulled into the underground parking garage beneath Olivia's building.
He stepped out, carrying the envelope from Marcus Reed.
He looked around.
Everything seemed quiet.
Too quiet.
As he reached the elevator...
A black sedan rolled silently into the garage.
The headlights switched off.
Three men climbed out.
None of them spoke.
Daniel instantly understood.
He turned and ran.
Footsteps exploded behind him.
The envelope slipped from his hands.
Pages scattered across the concrete floor.
One photograph slid beneath a parked car.
One of the men lunged toward it.
Daniel dove first.
His fingers grabbed the photograph—
—and in that split second, he saw something he had somehow missed before.
Standing on the opposite side of the intersection, seconds before the crash...
...was a man in a dark overcoat.
He wasn't watching the traffic.
He wasn't looking at the road.
He was looking directly at Olivia's SUV.
And he was smiling.
A gunshot echoed through the garage.
The photograph flew from Daniel's hand.
May you like
Everything went black.
To Be Continued...
