Chapter 13 - THE APARTMENT WITH THE UNLOCKED DOOR
Daniel was already dialing before the notification disappeared from his screen.
“Get someone there now,” he ordered. “Do not enter until local police arrive. I want every entrance photographed before anyone touches a thing.”
He ended the call and turned to Alex.
“When was the last time you were home?”
Alex tried to remember.
“Early this morning. I left before sunrise to get to the airport.”
“You locked the door?”
“Yes.”
“You're certain?”
“I checked it twice.”
Daniel nodded slowly. “Then whoever entered either had a key… or wanted you to believe they did.”
Within minutes, Daniel arranged for a private vehicle. Hospital security insisted that two guards accompany them. Martin remained behind to oversee Hannah’s protection, while Lily stayed asleep under the watch of nurses and an officer posted outside her room.
The drive across the city felt endless.
Alex stared through the window as familiar neighborhoods passed by. Small grocery stores, old apartment blocks, cracked sidewalks—everything looked ordinary, yet nothing felt safe anymore.
Daniel broke the silence.
“Has anyone besides your landlord ever had access to your apartment?”
“My maintenance supervisor.”
“Anyone else?”
Alex hesitated.
“My former roommate had a spare key.”
“Where is he now?”
“We haven't spoken in almost a year.”
“Name?”
“Ryan Ellis.”
Daniel typed the name into his phone.
“I'll have someone look into him.”
The car finally turned into Alex's apartment complex.
Red and blue lights reflected across the weathered brick walls. Two police vehicles stood outside the entrance, while several residents gathered behind the yellow tape, whispering among themselves.
Alex's landlord spotted him immediately.
“There you are!” he called. “The officers have been waiting.”
A detective approached.
“You're Alex Carter?”
“Yes.”
“I'm Detective Laura Bennett.”
She extended a gloved hand.
“We haven't searched the apartment yet. We wanted you present.”
Alex nodded.
The detective unlocked the door without speaking.
It swung inward.
Nothing appeared disturbed.
The couch remained where it had always been.
The tiny kitchen looked untouched.
Books still rested on the small wooden shelf beside the window.
Daniel frowned.
“They broke in… and took nothing?”
“Maybe,” Detective Bennett replied. “Or maybe they didn't come to steal.”
The forensic team began photographing every room.
One technician suddenly raised a hand.
“Detective.”
Everyone turned.
He pointed toward Alex's bedroom.
“There’s dust on the floor.”
Alex looked confused.
“So?”
“It’s only disturbed in one place.”
The technician crouched beside the bed.
Someone had clearly moved it several inches before pushing it back into position.
The detective signaled two officers.
“Lift it.”
Together they pulled the bed away from the wall.
Behind it…
…was a small rectangular opening cut into the drywall.
Alex stared in disbelief.
“That wasn't there.”
Inside the hidden cavity lay only one object.
A thin brown envelope.
No name.
No address.
No fingerprints visible.
Detective Bennett carefully removed it.
“Mr. Carter…”
She looked directly at him.
May you like
“I think whoever entered your apartment wanted you to find this.”
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