CHAPTER 6 — The Secret Hidden Inside the Condo
Alexander insisted on inspecting Sofia's condominium himself before anyone else entered.
Police officers accompanied them.
At first, nothing looked unusual.
The furniture was untouched.
Jewelry remained in place.
Nothing had been stolen.
Then Alexander noticed tiny scratches around the electrical panel.
He removed the cover.
Behind it...
A hidden flash drive.
Elena frowned.
"Why would someone hide this here?"
Alexander slowly closed his eyes.
"Because they knew eventually someone would search the condo."
The forensic team opened the encrypted drive.
Dozens of folders appeared.
Financial transfers.
Property records.
Shell companies.
Secret contracts.
Millions of dollars moving through fake real estate transactions.
The detective looked stunned.
"This isn't about your daughter's apartment."
Alexander nodded grimly.
"The condo was only the key."
"It was the only property connected to a financial trail someone desperately wanted erased."
The room fell silent.
One investigator suddenly gasped.
"There's one more file."
He clicked it open.
A video began to play.
The footage showed Sofia as a little girl, laughing in the living room with both of her parents.
The recording date was twenty years old.
Then the camera shifted.
Someone had secretly been filming through the window.
Not the family.
The house.
Watching.
Waiting.
Alexander's face drained of color.
"They were already following us back then."
Before anyone could react, every light inside the condo went out.
The emergency generator failed.
Darkness swallowed the apartment.
Then a phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
Alexander answered.
The same distorted voice returned.
"You finally found the drive."
A brief silence followed.
"Now ask yourself one question."
"If this started twenty years ago..."
"...who has been standing beside your family all this time?"
The call disconnected.
A cold realization settled over everyone in the dark apartment.
May you like
The enemy wasn't merely watching from the shadows.
Someone close to the Hale family had been feeding information to them for decades—and that person still hadn't been revealed.
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