Chapter 11 - THE WARNING THAT CHANGED EVERYTHINGThomas read the anonymous letter three times before he finally accepted that the danger surrounding his family had not ended with Julian Vance’s arrest.
“They know you have the box, and they know the boy spoke.”
The words seemed to grow darker with every passing second.
He glanced toward Noah, who was arranging his dinosaurs on the living room carpet. The little boy had no idea that a single sentence spoken at a birthday party had torn open a conspiracy powerful enough to threaten an entire corporation.
Thomas slipped the micro-drive into his pocket and called Daniel Mercer, the federal prosecutor overseeing the investigation.
“I received something connected to Julian’s case,” Thomas said. “A list of offshore accounts and names that haven't appeared in your indictment.”
Daniel's voice sharpened. “Don't open that drive again. Don't send it electronically. And whatever you do, don't contact anyone at your former company.”
“Someone already knows I have it.”
“Then someone inside our investigation may be compromised.”
Thomas looked toward the locked apartment door.
“Tell me something, Daniel. How much of Julian's operation have you actually uncovered?”
There was a long silence.
“Not enough,” Daniel admitted.
That evening, Thomas hired additional security through a firm recommended by Daniel. He also insisted that Noah remain inside the apartment until they could determine whether the warning was credible.
But just before bedtime, Noah tugged at his father's sleeve.
“Daddy, is Mommy coming home?”
Thomas knelt beside him.
“I don't know yet, buddy.”
Noah lowered his eyes. “Mommy said the man with the caterpillars would stop hurting people when someone found the little box.”
Thomas went completely still.
“What little box?”
“The one Mommy hid behind the loose wood in her bedroom.”
Thomas felt the blood drain from his face.
The hidden drawer had contained documents and a micro-drive. But Noah was describing something else—something his wife had apparently concealed even from him.
“Did Mommy tell you what was inside?”
Noah shook his head.
“She said it was a secret that could make bad people go away.”
Thomas held his son close, his thoughts racing.
May you like
For the first time, he wondered whether Amber had been trying to destroy Julian's empire long before their birthday party.
And if she had, he needed to know why she had waited so long to tell him.
Related Stories
