Chapter 3 - The Room Behind the Boxes
They moved Sarah into the garage that afternoon.
George unfolded an old camping bed beside shelves filled with paint cans and holiday decorations. Linda brought down a thin blanket and a pillow from the linen closet.
Chloe carried Sarah’s clothing in black garbage bags.
Ryan placed her laptop case on the concrete floor harder than necessary.
“Be careful,” Sarah warned.
Ryan looked at the case.
“What’s so important in there?”
“My work.”
“Your imaginary military project?”
Sarah stepped between him and the computer.
For a moment, Ryan’s expression changed. His smile disappeared, replaced by sharp interest.
“You’re awfully protective of that thing.”
“Because it contains Daniel’s files.”
At the mention of Daniel, Ryan stepped back.
Sarah did not notice him exchange a glance with Chloe.
The first night in the garage, temperatures fell below freezing.
The heater worked for several hours before shutting down. Sarah wrapped herself in her coat and sat on the bed with the laptop balanced across her knees.
Inside the encrypted files, she found another damaged section of Daniel’s final mission log.
The transport convoy had changed direction eleven minutes before the crash.
The navigation command appeared to have come from a secure defense server, but Guardian’s early detection program marked it as counterfeit.
Someone had stolen a valid military credential.
Sarah sent the data to Colonel Nathan Hayes, Daniel’s former commanding officer.
They had been communicating privately for weeks.
At 2:13 in the morning, Hayes called.
“You were right,” he said. “The command did not originate from our network.”
“Can you trace it?”
“Not yet. Whoever sent it knew how to hide the source.”
Sarah looked toward the door connecting the garage to the house.
It had been locked from the other side.
“I’m finishing the next version of Guardian,” she whispered. “It can track the signal backward.”
“You need a secure facility.”
“I need proof before anyone buries this.”
Hayes remained silent for a moment.
“Daniel trusted you.”
“And I trusted him.”
“Then finish it. But Sarah, you need to be careful. We found evidence that someone accessed Daniel’s private accounts after his death.”
Sarah’s hand moved protectively over her stomach.
“Who?”
“We don’t know.”
A floorboard creaked beyond the locked door.
Sarah stopped breathing.
Someone was standing on the other side.
She quietly closed the laptop.
After several seconds, the footsteps moved away.
The next morning, Ryan asked her what time she had gone to sleep.
Sarah answered without hesitation.
“Before midnight.”
Ryan smiled.
“Good. You need your rest.”
May you like
From that moment onward, Sarah knew she was not only unwelcome in the house.
She was being watched.
