CHAPTER 2: THE SAFEHOUSE
"Let her go."
Daniel's voice cut through the cold air.
The man in the white shirt finally spoke.
"You don't understand what you're involving yourself in."
"I understand enough," Daniel replied.
The man's expression hardened.
Then he shoved the young woman forward and walked away.
Not hurried.
Not frightened.
Confident.
As if he knew something Daniel didn't.
The woman nearly collapsed.
Daniel caught her before she hit the ground.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Emma."
Her eyes darted around the park.
"They'll come back."
"Who will?"
"The people who kept your sister hidden."
Daniel froze.
"Hidden?"
Emma nodded.
"Your sister wasn't allowed to return to the Reed family. Every letter she sent was intercepted. Every phone call was blocked."
Daniel felt sick.
"Why?"
Emma reached into her torn dress and pulled out a small flash drive.
"Because she discovered something."
She pressed it into his hand.
"Your father didn't write that lie about her."
Daniel stared.
"What?"
"Someone forced him."
The world seemed to stop.
For years he had blamed his father for destroying his sister's life.
Now another possibility emerged.
Someone had controlled them both.
That night Daniel brought Emma to a private apartment he owned under another name.
Inside the flash drive were hundreds of files.
Emails.
Bank transfers.
Security reports.
Photographs.
And one final video.
When Daniel clicked play, his sister appeared on the screen.
Older.
Thinner.
But unmistakably alive.
Tears instantly filled his eyes.
"Daniel," she said softly.
"If you're watching this, it means they finally failed."
May you like
The screen went black.
And Daniel knew his life would never be the same again.
