CHAPTER 4 – The Secret Hidden Inside Daniel's Family
Rachel couldn't breathe.
Her fingers tightened around the phone displaying the anonymous photograph.
Someone had been watching them.
Not from a distance.
Not through a security camera.
The picture had been taken from only a few feet away.
Whoever sent it had been standing among the crowd.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.
Daniel's voice shook.
"We have to leave. Right now."
Thomas grabbed Rachel's arm.
"No."
Rachel turned toward him.
"What do you mean, no?"
"If we run, they'll control every move we make."
Rachel pulled her arm free.
"They just threatened my daughter!"
Emily buried her face against her mother's shoulder.
"I'm scared, Mommy."
Rachel held her tighter.
"No one's going to hurt you."
But deep inside...
She wasn't sure that promise was true anymore.
The family rushed into the underground parking garage with two security guards escorting them.
The parking level was unusually quiet.
Only the echo of footsteps bounced between the concrete pillars.
Daniel reached for the car keys.
Then suddenly stopped.
His SUV was unlocked.
Rachel frowned.
"You locked it."
"I always do."
Daniel slowly opened the driver's door.
Nothing looked disturbed.
Until Emily pointed toward the windshield.
"There..."
A tiny white envelope rested beneath the windshield wiper.
Daniel carefully picked it up.
There was only one sentence inside.
"Look under the passenger seat."
Thomas immediately shouted,
"Don't touch the car!"
But Daniel was already kneeling beside the passenger door.
He reached underneath the seat.
His face turned ghostly white.
"What is it?"
Without answering...
He slowly pulled out a small silver flash drive.
Rachel stared at it.
"What is that?"
Daniel swallowed.
"I've seen this before."
Thomas froze.
"You recognize it?"
Daniel nodded.
"My father kept dozens of these."
Rachel looked confused.
"Your father was a corporate lawyer."
Daniel slowly shook his head.
"That's what I believed."
An hour later...
They arrived at Thomas's secluded cabin outside the city.
It was surrounded by tall pine trees and hidden far from the main road.
Thomas locked every door before placing the flash drive on an old wooden table.
"I haven't used this computer in years."
The ancient desktop finally powered on.
Daniel inserted the flash drive.
For several seconds...
Nothing happened.
Then a single folder appeared.
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Rachel frowned.
