Chapter 3 - THE WARNING
Emily stared at the photograph for nearly a minute.
Her fingers trembled.
Richard stepped closer.
"What is it?"
She handed it to him.
His face drained of color.
"Who took this?"
"I don't know."
"Did the man say anything?"
"No."
Richard looked toward the door.
"Go home."
"What?"
"Right now."
Emily shook her head.
"You can't just tell me to go home."
"Emily, listen to me."
His voice was unusually serious.
"I've been working in this company for twenty-two years. I've seen executives lie, steal, manipulate numbers, and destroy careers."
He held up the photograph.
"But I've never seen anyone send a warning like this."
"Who is Mrs. Kang?"
Richard looked at her.
"You don't know?"
"No."
"Daniel Kang?"
"Her son."
Richard sat down.
"He's one of the most powerful private investors in Illinois."
Emily frowned.
"So?"
"So Bellmont & Rowe isn't just a department store."
"What is it?"
Richard lowered his voice.
"Part of a holding company."
Emily stared.
"Whose?"
Richard hesitated.
"Kang Capital."
Everything suddenly clicked.
The security.
The SUV.
The manager's fear.
The way everyone had gone silent.
Emily looked down at the photograph again.
"Why was she there?"
"I don't know."
"And why was someone watching her?"
Richard didn't answer.
His silence was enough.
Emily left the office.
She barely made it to the elevator before her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She ignored it.
It rang again.
She answered.
"Hello?"
A man's voice said,
"Stop asking questions."
Then the call ended.
Emily stood frozen.
The elevator doors opened.
She stepped inside.
Her reflection looked pale.
She should have gone home.
Instead, she went back to Bellmont & Rowe.
She entered through the side entrance.
The store manager was gone.
A temporary employee recognized her.
"You're the woman from yesterday."
Emily nodded.
"I'm looking for someone."
"Who?"
"The elderly woman."
The employee hesitated.
"Mrs. Kang?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I need to understand why someone is following her."
The employee looked frightened.
"I don't know anything."
"You saw what happened."
"I saw enough to know I don't want trouble."
Emily softened.
"Neither do I."
The employee glanced around.
Then whispered,
"Mrs. Kang came here every Tuesday."
"Why?"
"She always asked to see the same display."
"What display?"
The employee pointed toward the luxury handbag section.
Emily walked over.
There was nothing unusual.
Just expensive bags.
Then she noticed a glass case.
Inside was an old leather handbag.
It looked completely different from the others.
Worn.
Simple.
Almost worthless compared to everything surrounding it.
"What's that?"
The employee swallowed.
"That bag isn't for sale."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Emily studied it.
There was a tiny metal clasp.
Engraved into it were two initials.
S.K.
Mrs. Kang's name.
She took out her phone.
Then she noticed something else.
A security camera directly above the display.
Someone had been watching this exact location.
She stepped backward.
Her phone buzzed.
A text message.
Leave the store. Now.
Emily looked around.
Nobody was there.
Then she saw the reflection in the glass.
A man standing behind her.
She turned.
Gone.
Emily ran.
She pushed through the doors and hurried down the sidewalk.
A black SUV pulled alongside her.
She froze.
The rear window lowered.
Daniel Kang looked out.
"Get in."
Emily stared at him.
"How did you know I was here?"
"Because someone called me."
"Who?"
"Doesn't matter."
"It matters to me."
Daniel opened the door.
"Emily."
She didn't move.
He looked directly into her eyes.
"Someone has been watching my mother for weeks."
Emily's heart raced.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
His jaw tightened.
"I don't know who yet."
Emily stared at him.
"Then why are you protecting me?"
Daniel paused.
"Because yesterday you protected her."
"That's not enough."
"It is for me."
Emily entered the SUV.
Daniel closed the door behind her.
The vehicle moved.
After several minutes, Emily said,
"Tell me the truth."
Daniel looked out the window.
"My mother believes someone inside my company is trying to kill her."
Emily went still.
"What?"
"And yesterday she was supposed to retrieve evidence."
"What evidence?"
Daniel finally looked at her.
"We don't know."
Emily remembered the old handbag.
"The bag."
Daniel's expression changed.
"What bag?"
"The one at Bellmont & Rowe."
"What did you see?"
"A leather handbag with your mother's initials."
Daniel immediately grabbed his phone.
"Park."
The driver looked back.
"Yes?"
"Turn around."
Emily's pulse accelerated.
"Why?"
Daniel looked at her.
"Because that bag wasn't supposed to be there."
The SUV made a sharp turn.
And Emily suddenly realized something terrifying.
Whatever had happened yesterday had never been about an elderly woman being thrown out of a store.
May you like
It had been a trap.
And she had walked directly into it.
