Chapter 6 - THE MAN WHO KNEW OUR HOUSE
The police officer looked at the security footage twice.
Then a third time.
His name was Detective Mason Reed.
I had met him years earlier during a K9 training demonstration.
He was the kind of man who didn't waste words.
Which I appreciated.
People who talk too much usually hide something.
He sat at my kitchen table.
The same table where Ryan had once eaten dinner with us.
Now it felt like a crime scene.
"Grant," Mason said.
"Yeah?"
"I need you to understand something."
"What?"
"This isn't just a family argument anymore."
I nodded.
"I know."
"Someone entered your home."
"I know."
"Someone had access to private information."
"I know."
He looked at me.
"Then you understand why I'm asking these questions."
I nodded.
"Ask."
He opened a notebook.
"How long has Ryan been around your family?"
"Years."
"Relationship?"
"My wife's brother."
"Any previous problems?"
I almost answered no.
Almost.
Then I remembered.
Small things.
Things I ignored.
Ryan making comments.
Ryan asking about my finances.
Ryan joking about how easy my life looked.
I had always assumed jealousy.
Now I wasn't sure.
"There were things."
"What things?"
"He asked about my business."
"Your dog training company?"
"Yes."
"How often?"
"More than normal."
Mason wrote something down.
"Did he know your schedule?"
I looked at the camera footage.
"Apparently."
The detective nodded.
"Grant, I want you to think carefully."
"About what?"
"People rarely start with a big betrayal."
He looked at the printed footage.
"They test boundaries first."
That sentence stayed with me.
Because suddenly, memories started coming back.
Ryan showing up unexpectedly.
Ryan asking where I kept documents.
Ryan offering to "help" with paperwork.
Small things.
Small enough to ignore.
Until they weren't.
Then my phone rang.
Emily.
I answered.
"Where are you?"
Her voice was shaking.
"Grant..."
"What happened?"
"I found something."
I stood immediately.
"What?"
"I found the second phone."
My heart stopped.
"Where?"
"In Ryan's old backpack."
"What?"
"He left it here."
I grabbed my jacket.
"Don't touch anything."
"I'm not."
"Stay there."
I looked at Mason.
"Something happened."
He stood.
"Let's go."
The backpack was hidden in the garage.
A place nobody would notice.
Inside:
A wallet.
Receipts.
A notebook.
And the phone.
The second phone.
The one Tessa knew existed.
The one Ryan thought we would never find.
Mason put on gloves.
He examined it.
"Password?"
Emily whispered:
"I don't know."
I looked at her.
"You don't?"
"No."
"Then how did Ryan use it?"
She looked away.
"I never saw him unlock it."
The detective looked at the phone.
"Interesting."
"What?"
"If someone wanted to hide a phone, they would lock it."
"So?"
"So maybe he wanted someone to find it."
The garage suddenly felt colder.
"What are you saying?"
Mason looked at me.
"I'm saying this might be bait."
Before we could respond, the phone turned on.
No password.
A notification appeared.
One message.
From Ryan.
If you're seeing this, it means you finally stopped trusting everyone.
Nobody spoke.
Then another message appeared.
Good.
A third.
Now you're ready for the truth.
The phone opened.
There was one video file.
Created three days after Miles was born.
Mason looked at me.
"Do you want to watch this?"
I stared at the screen.
At my son's name.
At the date.
At the secret someone had hidden.
"Play it."
The video started.
A hospital room appeared.
My hands became numb.
Because I recognized the room.
I was there.
But the camera angle was wrong.
Someone had been recording.
Hidden.
Emily was sitting beside the bed.
A nurse stood nearby.
Then another person entered.
A man.
Someone I didn't recognize.
He placed a folder on the table.
And said:
"Mrs. Carter, if you sign this, your husband never needs to know."
Emily in the video looked terrified.
Then the camera moved closer.
The nurse said something that made my entire body freeze.
"Because if he finds out what happened to the baby..."
The video cut.
Black screen.
And one final message appeared.
Ask Emily who the man in the hospital was.
I slowly turned toward my wife.
Her face was completely white.
Because she knew.
May you like
She knew exactly who that man was.
TO BE CONTINUED...
