Chapter 6 - A House Full of Secrets
Trevor stepped out of the lead SUV wearing the same calm smile Rebecca had fallen in love with years earlier.
Except now she saw something she had never noticed before.
There was no warmth behind it.
Only calculation.
Men dressed in dark suits spread around the warehouse.
Not bodyguards.
Professionals.
They moved with military precision.
Margaret quickly pulled Rebecca toward a narrow hallway.
"There's another exit."
Rebecca looked down at Emma.
The little girl was unusually quiet.
Almost as if she sensed the danger.
They hurried through the building until Margaret suddenly stopped.
"No..."
The exit had already been blocked.
Trevor slowly walked into the hallway.
"I told you," he said softly.
"You should never keep secrets from me."
Rebecca stepped in front of Emma.
"You've been following me."
Trevor laughed.
"I've been protecting my family."
Margaret scoffed.
"Protection doesn't require surveillance cameras inside a child's bedroom."
Rebecca stared at Trevor.
"Cameras?"
Trevor's silence answered the question.
Every bedtime story.
Every phone call.
Every whispered prayer.
He had heard everything.
Rebecca felt sick.
Margaret suddenly threw a metal pipe toward the ceiling.
The warehouse lights shattered.
Darkness swallowed the hallway.
"Run!" Margaret shouted.
Rebecca grabbed Emma and sprinted through the confusion.
Behind her she heard Trevor yelling orders.
"Don't let them leave!"
Outside, rain poured from the darkening sky.
Rebecca reached her car, but the tires had been slashed.
She looked around desperately.
Then a black luxury sedan skidded to a stop beside her.
The driver's window rolled down.
Richard Lawson looked at his daughter with disbelief.
"Rebecca..."
His eyes fell on the bruises she could no longer hide.
Everything he had feared became reality.
Without another word, he opened the passenger door.
"Get in."
Rebecca climbed inside, clutching Emma tightly.
As Richard accelerated away, Trevor stood beneath the pouring rain, watching the taillights disappear.
He wasn't angry.
He wasn't shouting.
He simply reached into his pocket and pressed a button on a small remote.
Hundreds of miles away...
A hidden safe quietly unlocked itself.
Inside lay a sealed envelope labeled in faded handwriting:
For Emma.
Open only if Rebecca escapes.
Trevor smiled to himself.
May you like
"You're already too late."
To be continued in Chapter 7...
