CHAPTER 2 – The Midnight Visitor
Margaret could barely breathe.
Every terrifying story she had ever heard rushed through her mind.
Had she invited a murderer into her home?
Was this how her life would end?
She kept pretending to sleep.
Her heartbeat pounded so loudly she was certain Daniel could hear it.
The metal object rose higher.
Closer.
Closer...
Until suddenly...
Click.
A soft sound.
Margaret cautiously opened one eye.
Daniel wasn't holding a knife.
He was holding...
An old flashlight.
Its weak beam shined toward the window instead of her.
He slowly walked across the room.
Then carefully checked every lock.
Every window.
Every curtain.
His movements were slow, deliberate, almost professional.
Margaret didn't understand.
Then she heard it.
Another sound.
Outside.
Footsteps.
Not inside the apartment.
Outside the front door.
Someone was trying very quietly to unlock it.
Daniel immediately switched off the flashlight.
His face changed instantly.
The shy young man disappeared.
Standing there now was someone alert...
Calm...
Ready.
He whispered so softly Margaret almost couldn't hear.
"Please don't move."
Three gentle knocks echoed from the front door.
Knock...
Knock...
Knock...
No one spoke.
Then the doorknob slowly turned.
Daniel moved into the hallway without making a sound.
Margaret heard him breathe once.
Only once.
The door opened a few inches.
A tall man dressed in black slipped inside.
Then another.
And another.
Three strangers.
All wearing gloves.
One whispered,
"She should still be asleep."
Margaret's blood ran cold.
They weren't here for Daniel.
They were here...
For her.
Suddenly—
CRASH!
Daniel lunged from the darkness.
The flashlight smashed against one intruder's wrist, sending a crowbar clattering across the floor.
Another attacker rushed forward.
Daniel dodged him effortlessly.
Margaret watched in disbelief.
This timid homeless young man fought with the precision of someone who had survived countless battles.
Within seconds two intruders were on the ground.
The third fled toward the hallway.
Before escaping, he shouted something that froze Daniel where he stood.
"You should have stayed dead!"
The apartment fell silent.
Daniel's face turned pale.
Margaret stared at him.
"Who... are you?"
Daniel slowly turned around.
His expression was no longer frightened.
It was filled with guilt.
After a long silence he whispered,
"My real name isn't Daniel."
He reached into his backpack.
From a hidden compartment, he removed an old leather wallet.
Inside was a worn identification card.
Margaret's hands began trembling before she even read the name.
Because she recognized the photograph immediately.
It belonged to a man the entire country believed had died five years earlier.
And according to every newspaper...
He had been responsible for stealing millions before mysteriously disappearing forever.
Margaret looked up in horror.
The young man she had welcomed into her home...
Was either the most dangerous criminal alive...
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Or the only man who knew who had truly betrayed her family.
To be continued...
