Chapter 4 - THE FILE DANIEL HID
Margaret barely slept that night.
Every time she closed her eyes, she heard Daniel’s voice from the recording.
“If something happens to me…”
Those words kept repeating in her mind.
Daniel had known.
He had been afraid.
And somehow, the people around him had ignored every warning sign.
At six in the morning, Margaret heard a quiet knock at her apartment door.
She froze.
Nobody knew she lived there except a few people.
Slowly, she walked toward the door.
“Who is it?”
A familiar voice answered.
“It’s me.”
Emily.
Margaret quickly opened the door.
Emily stood there holding her backpack.
Behind her was a police officer.
“Ms. Collins,” the officer said. “Emily told us she wanted to give you something.”
Margaret looked confused.
“What?”
Emily opened her backpack.
Inside was Daniel’s old laptop.
Margaret’s eyes widened.
“Where did you get that?”
“Daddy hid it.”
“When?”
Emily looked down.
“The night before he died.”
Margaret felt her stomach drop.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
Emily’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because Aunt Olivia said Daddy was confused.”
Margaret went silent.
“What?”
Emily hugged the laptop.
“She said Daddy was becoming paranoid. She told me not to believe everything he said.”
The officer exchanged a look with Margaret.
Because suddenly, everything connected.
Daniel wasn’t just afraid.
Someone had been trying to convince everyone that he was losing control.
Someone had been preparing people not to believe him.
Margaret opened the laptop.
It was password protected.
“Do you know the password?”
Emily nodded.
“It’s my birthday.”
Margaret typed it.
The screen opened.
Hundreds of files appeared.
Financial records.
Emails.
Photos.
Documents.
Daniel had been collecting evidence.
The officer looked closer.
“This is bigger than a murder case.”
Margaret clicked on a folder labeled:
"PROJECT SILVER."
Inside were dozens of documents.
She opened the first one.
Her face changed.
It was a list.
Names.
Dates.
Amounts of money.
And beside each name...
A signature.
Robert Hayes.
Olivia Carter.
Several other people Margaret recognized.
But one name made her stop breathing.
Daniel Carter.
Margaret whispered:
“Why would Daniel’s name be here?”
Emily looked scared.
“What does it mean?”
Before Margaret could answer, the laptop suddenly went black.
The screen flashed.
ACCESS DENIED.
Then a message appeared.
YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO FIND THIS.
Margaret stepped back.
Someone had remotely accessed the computer.
The officer immediately reached for his phone.
“Whoever did this knows we have the files.”
Margaret stared at the message.
Then another line appeared.
YOU HAVE 24 HOURS TO RETURN WHAT YOU STOLE.
Emily grabbed Margaret’s hand.
“Who are they?”
Margaret looked at the screen.
For the first time, she understood something.
Daniel hadn’t been killed because of a misunderstanding.
He had been killed because he found the truth.
May you like
And now...
They knew she had found it too.
