CHAPTER 3 – The Note That Exposed a Much Bigger Secret
Ethan didn't sleep that night.
The threatening note lay on his bedroom floor while police officers searched every room of the Whitmore mansion.
Richard had been arrested.
But someone had still managed to sneak into Ethan's bedroom.
That meant one terrifying thing.
Richard wasn't acting alone.
At sunrise, Detective Mason arrived with a forensic team.
"Nobody touches anything," he ordered.
Within minutes, an officer rushed downstairs.
"Detective... every security recording from last night has been deleted."
Mason frowned.
"Deleted?"
"Not damaged."
"Deleted by someone with the highest security access."
Only three people in the mansion had that level of authorization.
Ethan.
His mother.
And the family's trusted butler, Mr. Graves, who had worked for the Whitmores for nearly thirty years.
The old butler looked shocked.
"I would never hurt Master Ethan."
The detective nodded.
"Then someone stole your access."
Meanwhile...
Across town, Lily was getting ready for school.
She had no idea the story of her kindness had exploded across America.
Millions had watched the video.
Television stations were calling her "The Little Girl With the Biggest Heart."
But while Lily happily packed her crayons into her backpack...
A black sedan quietly parked across the street.
Inside sat a man wearing sunglasses.
He wasn't watching the school.
He was watching Lily.
He slowly lifted a phone.
"I found the girl."
A cold voice answered.
"Do not lose her again."
Back at the mansion, detectives finally unlocked Richard's laptop.
The room fell silent.
Instead of family photos...
They found hundreds of files.
Children.
Names.
Addresses.
Surveillance photos.
Some were marked with red circles.
One file had been opened only hours before Richard's arrest.
The screen displayed a familiar face.
Lily Parker.
Everyone froze.
Detective Mason immediately grabbed his radio.
"Send officers to the Parker residence!"
Ethan stared at the screen in disbelief.
"Why would Richard investigate Lily?"
His mother slowly remembered something.
Three years earlier...
Richard had donated millions to an organization called Safe Tomorrow Foundation, claiming it protected abandoned children.
The detective searched the organization.
It no longer existed.
Its website had vanished overnight.
Every financial record had been erased.
Then Ethan noticed a hidden folder.
Its name was simply:
PROJECT PHOENIX
He clicked it.
Only one sentence appeared.
"Target Number One has awakened. Protect the child before they discover who she really is."
Ethan's heart pounded.
"Who is Target Number One?"
Before anyone could answer...
Detective Mason's phone rang.
His face turned ghostly pale.
"What happened?"
The officer on the other end shouted,
"We're too late!"
"The Parker house is empty..."
May you like
"...and Lily is gone."
TO BE CONTINUED...
