Chapter 5 - The First Message
Claire’s phone vibrated.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
It showed Elias’s house from across the street.
Beneath it was a message from an unknown number.
RETURN WHAT YOU STOLE.
A second message followed.
YOUR FATHER CANNOT WATCH YOU FOREVER.
Claire turned pale.
Elias photographed the messages with his own phone, preserved the original conversation and contacted Detective Lena Ortiz.
Lena had known Elias for years. Her younger brother had trained under him before joining the military.
She arrived at the coffee shop with another officer.
Claire told them everything.
She expected disbelief. Ryan was a local celebrity. His charity events appeared on television, and several city officials attended his fights.
Lena listened without interrupting.
When Claire finished, the detective examined the laptop but did not open any files.
“We’ll need to preserve the evidence properly,” she said. “Do not edit, rename or send anything.”
Claire nodded.
“What happens now?”
“We verify what you found.”
“And Ryan?”
“We document every threat. Stay somewhere he cannot easily access.”
Elias offered his home.
Claire hesitated.
Ryan had spent months telling her that returning to her father would prove she was childish and weak.
Then she realized she was still hearing Ryan’s voice even when he was not there.
May you like
“I’ll stay with Dad,” she said.
It was her first decision without Ryan’s permission in nearly a year.
