Chapter 4 - THE EMPTY APARTMENT

Noah’s apartment smelled like burnt toast and the lemon cleaner he bought in bulk. The doorframe was splintered. His laptop was gone, but his coat still hung behind the door.

I walked from room to room calling his name. Luca stayed close enough to hear me, far enough to let me search.

In the kitchen, I found Noah’s phone beneath a chair. The screen was cracked. It showed a missed call from me at 10:18.

Marcus checked the hallway camera with the building manager. Daniel had entered at 8:07. Noah had opened the door and smiled. They left together twelve minutes later. No struggle appeared on the footage.

“He knew Daniel?” Luca asked.

“No. At least he never told me.”

I tried to call again anyway. The phone in my hand rang. I nearly dropped it.

Luca found a receipt on the counter from a café where Noah often worked on repairs. Written across the back in Noah’s quick handwriting were three words:

ASK ABOUT THE SERVER.

“What server?” Luca asked.

“Noah’s clients sometimes pay him to recover deleted files.”

“Was he working for me?”

“I don’t know.”

Marcus returned with an update. “Daniel’s car entered a parking garage near the river at 8:41. It hasn’t left.”

We drove there. Luca called Daniel twice. Both calls went unanswered.

On the third try, Daniel picked up.

“Luca,” he said warmly. “You finally escaped your own dinner?”

“Where’s Noah Dawson?”

A brief silence. “Who?”

“Claire’s brother.”

“Oh. The computer guy. He’s helping me with a project.”

“Put him on.”

“He stepped out.”

Luca looked at Marcus, who was already moving toward the garage entrance. “Then I’ll wait.”

Daniel’s voice cooled. “You’re making a mistake over a few photographs.”

“What’s on the document?”

“I’ll explain tomorrow.”

“You can explain now.”

The call ended.

We found Daniel’s car on level three. It was empty. In the passenger seat lay Noah’s blue backpack, the one with a broken zipper he always meant to fix.

I opened it. His wallet was there. So was a folded page covered in rows of dates and bank transfers.

At the bottom, Noah had written:

THE WEDDING IS A DISTRACTION. CHECK THE WEST DOCKS.

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A door slammed on the far side of the garage.

Then Noah shouted, “Claire, get out!”