CHAPTER 2 : THE FRIEND WHO STOLE MORE THAN MONEY
Emma's heart pounded.
"He came for me?"
Hidden inside the security room, she stared at the monitor.
William Carter stood in the center of the mansion.
The same man who had taught her how to ride a bicycle.
The same man who bought her birthday gifts every year.
The same man who sat beside her father at every holiday dinner.
And now he was leading the robbery.
On the phone, Ethan Whitmore's voice became deadly calm.
"Emma, lock the security room."
She pressed the red button.
Heavy steel bolts slid into place.
Outside, the robbers continued searching.
Then William stopped.
One of the men approached him.
"We searched the east wing."
"No sign of the girl."
William's expression darkened.
"Find her."
The man hesitated.
"Why does she matter?"
William looked toward the hidden music room.
"Because she's the only witness."
Emma covered her mouth.
A witness?
Witness to what?
Then William pulled a folder from his jacket.
He opened it.
Even through the security camera, Emma could see photographs.
Old photographs.
One image slipped onto the floor.
William picked it up.
The moment Emma saw it, she froze.
It was her mother.
Not the framed portrait hanging in the mansion.
A different picture.
Her mother holding a newborn baby.
Holding Emma.
"Mom..."
Emma whispered.
William stared at the photo.
His face changed.
For a moment, he looked sad.
Almost guilty.
Then Ethan's voice suddenly exploded through the phone.
"Security teams are arriving in four minutes."
Emma nodded.
But before she could respond, another camera activated automatically.
A hidden recording.
The screen showed footage from eight years earlier.
The night Emma's mother died.
Emma stared in horror.
A black SUV.
A rainy road.
Her mother's car.
Then another vehicle appeared behind it.
Following.
Watching.
Waiting.
The driver of that vehicle stepped out for a split second.
Emma's blood ran cold.
It was William.
The room spun.
The man who had been her father's best friend...
Had been there the night her mother died.
And suddenly Emma understood.
This robbery had never been about money.
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It was about a secret someone had spent eight years trying to bury.
TO BE CONTINUED...
