Chapter 6 - THE HOUSE THAT WASN'T SAFE ANYMORE
I drove back to my house that night.
Not because I wanted to.
Because I needed answers.
The police had already arrived.
The front door was damaged.
The lock was broken.
Someone had searched the place.
But they didn't steal anything.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The television was still there.
The jewelry was still there.
The money was untouched.
They weren't looking for valuables.
They were looking for something.
An officer handed me a bag.
"We found this."
Inside was a small USB drive.
My name was written on it.
MICHAEL.
I looked at it.
"Where was it found?"
"In your bedroom."
I felt a chill.
My bedroom.
The place where Sarah and I slept.
The place where my daughter was born.
The place where someone had walked in like they owned it.
I took the drive carefully.
Daniel looked at me.
"Don't open it here."
I nodded.
He was right.
Someone wanted me to find it.
That meant there was a reason.
When we got back to James's house, I connected it to a secure laptop.
A single video file appeared.
Created three months ago.
My hands tightened.
I clicked.
The screen showed Brad.
Sitting in a car.
Talking to someone.
I couldn't see the other person.
But I heard the voice.
And my blood ran cold.
Because I recognized it.
It was someone I trusted.
Brad spoke first.
"Everything is going according to plan."
The other voice answered:
"Good."
"When he doesn't return, Sarah will have no choice."
My breathing stopped.
The voice continued:
"The insurance money will solve everything."
Brad smiled.
"And the daughter?"
A pause.
Then:
"She'll adjust."
I felt sick.
My daughter.
They were talking about my daughter like she was an object.
Like she was something to move around.
The video continued.
Brad looked confident.
"Nobody will question it."
The other person laughed.
"They always believe the grieving wife."
I paused the video.
My hands were shaking.
Daniel looked at me.
"Who was that?"
I couldn't answer.
Because I knew.
The voice belonged to someone who had been in my house.
Someone who had held my daughter.
Someone who had called himself family.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Only breathing.
Then a voice whispered:
"You should have stayed dead."
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Daniel looked at me.
"Mike?"
I slowly stood.
Because suddenly everything became clear.
This was never about Brad.
Brad was only a piece.
Someone else was controlling him.
Someone else had been waiting for me not to come home.
I looked at the video again.
At the unknown person sitting across from Brad.
The person who wanted my life.
The person who wanted my family.
And then I noticed something in the corner of the video.
A reflection in the car window.
A watch.
A ring.
A hand.
I froze.
Because I recognized that ring.
I had seen it every Christmas.
Every birthday.
Every family dinner.
The ring belonged to someone I loved.
Someone I trusted.
Someone who had helped raise my daughter.
I whispered:
"No..."
Daniel looked at me.
"What?"
I stared at the screen.
"The person behind this..."
May you like
My voice broke.
"It's someone from my own family."
