Chapter 4 - THE FIRST BETRAYAL
Adrian raised one hand.
Every guard froze.
The second knock came again.
Claire pulled Emma behind her. Adrian drew his weapon and stepped toward the door.
“Who is it?”
No answer.
He glanced at the security monitor.
The hallway appeared empty.
Adrian opened the door with one sharp movement.
A body fell inside.
It was Mrs. Bell.
Her throat had been cut.
Claire covered Emma’s eyes, but the child had already seen enough. She screamed.
Adrian caught the old woman before her head struck the floor. Blood spread across the polished tiles.
A black symbol had been carved into her wrist: a circle crossed by three lines.
Claire stared at it. “The Ledger.”
Adrian looked at his head of security, Marcus Reed. “Lock down the building.”
Marcus nodded and ran.
Claire shook with anger. “This is why you need to leave us alone.”
Adrian turned on her. “Someone followed you to my office.”
“They followed you.”
“No. They followed the person who leaked our location.”
His eyes moved across the room.
There were only five people who knew where Claire and Emma had been taken.
Adrian. Claire. Marcus. His driver, Jonah. And his younger brother, Daniel.
Daniel had been dead for three years.
Adrian’s phone rang.
The screen showed an unknown number.
He answered.
A distorted voice said, “You should have let the dead stay buried.”
“Who are you?”
“Ask Claire why she opened the door.”
Adrian looked at Claire.
She went pale.
The caller continued, “Ask her what she took from the safe.”
Claire whispered, “Don’t listen.”
“What safe?” Adrian asked.
The line went dead.
He grabbed Claire’s arm. “What did you take?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Her eyes flashed. “You think I survived seven years by trusting every man who raised his voice?”
Adrian released her.
Emma suddenly stepped toward him. “Stop yelling at Mommy.”
The words struck him harder than he expected.
He lowered his voice. “I’m trying to protect you.”
“Mommy protects me.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
Claire pulled Emma close.
That night, after everyone went to sleep, Adrian searched the apartment. Beneath the floorboard in Claire’s temporary bedroom, he found a thin metal box.
Inside was a flash drive, three passports, and a handwritten list of names.
The final name made his blood turn cold.
Marcus Reed.
Before Adrian could process it, the lights went out.
From the darkness, someone whispered:
May you like
“Put the box down.”
Cliffhanger: Adrian recognized the voice as one of his own guards.
