CHAPTER 6 — THE ACCIDENT THAT WASN'T AN ACCIDENT
CHAPTER 6 — THE ACCIDENT THAT WASN'T AN ACCIDENT
Daniel noticed the SUV after the third traffic light.
It stayed two cars behind.
Turned whenever he turned.
Never passed.
He glanced toward Maya.
"I think we're being followed."
She looked into the side mirror.
"I think you're right."
Daniel immediately changed routes.
The SUV followed.
His grip tightened on the steering wheel.
"Call 911."
Maya reached for her phone.
No signal.
She frowned.
"That's impossible."
Daniel checked his own.
Nothing.
"Signal jammer."
His stomach dropped.
"This isn't random."
Behind them, inside the SUV, a man wearing black gloves spoke into an earpiece.
"They have the documents."
A cold voice replied,
"Recover them."
"And if they refuse?"
A pause.
"No witnesses."
Daniel suddenly turned into the underground parking garage of an older hotel.
The SUV overshot the entrance.
"Come on!"
He parked.
Grabbed the lockbox.
Maya clutched the journal.
Together they hurried through the garage.
Footsteps echoed behind them.
Too many.
Someone shouted.
"There!"
Three men in dark jackets appeared between the concrete pillars.
Daniel pulled Maya behind a parked truck.
"Run."
"They'll catch us."
"Not if we split up."
"I'm not leaving you."
"Maya!"
"I'm not doing this again!"
Her words hit him like lightning.
"I'm not losing you because someone else makes the decision."
Daniel looked into her eyes.
For the first time in fifteen years...
they stood on the same side.
The men advanced.
One reached into his jacket.
Daniel's instincts screamed.
"Down!"
A muffled gunshot cracked through the garage.
The bullet shattered a windshield behind them.
Maya gasped.
"They're shooting!"
Daniel grabbed her hand.
They ran.
Car alarms exploded throughout the garage.
The attackers chased them.
One slipped on broken glass.
Another yelled,
"Don't let them leave!"
At the garage exit, an elderly security guard stepped into the path.
"Hey! What's going on?"
One attacker shoved him violently.
The man crashed into a concrete pillar.
Maya immediately turned back.
"We have to help him!"
Daniel hesitated only a second.
Together they dragged the injured guard behind a parked van.
Daniel dialed emergency services again.
The signal suddenly returned.
Within seconds, police sirens echoed in the distance.
The attackers fled.
Their SUV disappeared into traffic before officers arrived.
Later that evening, detectives interviewed Daniel and Maya separately.
"Do you know who wanted those documents?"
Daniel answered honestly.
"No."
But deep inside...
he had a terrible suspicion.
His father's enemies.
Or someone who had helped Richard Hart all those years ago.
Someone who feared the truth.
Near midnight, Maya finally returned home.
Noah was asleep on the couch beside Mrs. Alvarez.
The elderly woman hugged Maya tightly.
"I saw the news."
"What news?"
Mrs. Alvarez pointed toward the television.
A local breaking-news report filled the screen.
Attempted armed robbery in downtown parking garage involving Hartwell Development CEO Daniel Hart.
No mention of Maya.
She exhaled slowly.
At least Noah wouldn't become frightened.
After Mrs. Alvarez left, Maya carried her son to bed.
Half asleep, Noah wrapped tiny arms around her neck.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Don't go away."
Her heart shattered.
"I'm right here."
"I had a bad dream."
"What happened?"
"A man took you."
Maya held him closer.
"It was only a dream."
Noah slowly fell asleep again.
But Maya didn't.
Across town, Daniel sat alone in his study.
The engagement ring lay on his desk.
Beside it...
the photograph of his younger self standing outside Maya's old apartment.
He looked at the date again.
Three years after he had left.
He had come back exactly as he promised.
Someone had simply made sure they never found each other.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered cautiously.
"Hello?"
A distorted voice spoke only one sentence.
"You opened something that should have stayed buried."
Click.
The line went dead.
Daniel immediately checked every lock in the house.
Then he noticed something outside his study window.
A figure.
Standing across the street.
Watching the house.
As soon as Daniel stepped toward the glass...
the stranger smiled.
Raised one gloved hand.
And slowly held up a familiar object.
It was Noah's small green dinosaur.
The same stuffed toy the little boy never let out of his sight.
Daniel's blood ran cold.
How could a stranger possibly have Noah's toy?
One terrifying possibility flashed through his mind.
Someone had already found Maya's son.
May you like
And if they were willing to target a five-year-old child...
the war Richard Hart started fifteen years ago had only just begun.
