CHAPTER 6 — The Child They Tried to Silence
CHAPTER 6 — The Child They Tried to Silence
Helena was putting Olivia down for her afternoon nap in the small apartment they rented on Chicago's north side when the first call came.
Unknown number.
She ignored it.
A second call.
Then a third.
Finally...
A text message appeared.
You should have stayed invisible.
Her blood ran cold.
Another message arrived.
Little girls shouldn't wander into rooms that don't belong to them.
Helena's hands began shaking violently.
She immediately locked every door.
Closed every curtain.
Checked every window.
Olivia looked up sleepily.
"Mama?"
"We're playing a game."
"What game?"
"Quiet mice."
Olivia giggled.
"I win."
Helena forced herself to smile.
Inside...
She was terrified.
Daniel answered Marcus's call before the first ring finished.
"What's wrong?"
"They contacted Helena."
His expression changed instantly.
"How?"
"Threats."
Daniel didn't hesitate.
"Send security."
Marcus already had.
Two former federal agents were on their way.
Another team began tracing the anonymous messages.
Within twenty minutes, Helena's apartment building was under discreet surveillance.
Daniel himself arrived less than fifteen minutes later.
When Helena opened the door, she looked embarrassed.
"You didn't have to come."
"Yes."
"I did."
He stepped inside.
The apartment was spotless.
Tiny.
Two rooms.
Peeling paint.
Secondhand furniture.
Children's drawings covered one wall.
Daniel stopped in front of one drawing.
It showed a castle.
A princess.
A little rabbit.
And a tall man wearing a blue tie.
"That's you," Olivia said proudly from the couch.
Daniel smiled.
"You remembered my tie."
"You looked lonely."
He looked at the drawing for a long time.
"No one's ever drawn me before."
Helena quietly looked away.
Meanwhile...
Marcus finally traced the threatening messages.
Not to Victor.
Not to Isabella.
To a prepaid phone purchased that morning.
Security footage from the convenience store identified the buyer.
A familiar face.
Marcus stared at the screen.
"No..."
He immediately called Daniel.
"We found him."
"Who?"
"The buyer."
Daniel listened.
Marcus's voice turned grim.
"It's Thomas Greene."
Daniel frowned.
"Our head of security?"
Marcus nodded.
"He has worked for you eleven years."
Silence.
"He personally approved Isabella's unrestricted access."
"He disabled the cameras."
"He intercepted deliveries."
"And yesterday..."
"...he was alone with your damaged laptop for seventeen minutes."
Daniel slowly looked toward the two bodyguards now protecting Helena's apartment.
"If Thomas is involved..."
Marcus finished the sentence.
"...then every move we've made may already be known."
At that exact moment...
Thomas Greene was sitting inside a black SUV parked across the street.
Through binoculars, he watched Daniel enter Helena's building.
He smiled.
Then dialed a number.
"They're together."
A woman's voice answered.
"Good."
Thomas asked quietly,
"What about the child?"
A long silence followed.
Then the woman spoke words that made even Thomas hesitate.
"If the mother won't stop talking..."
"...make sure the little girl gives her a reason to."
Thomas slowly lowered the phone.
Even after years of dirty work...
He had never expected Isabella Crane to order something like that.
May you like
And for the very first time...
He wondered whether he had chosen the wrong side.
