Chapter 7 - THE NAME SHE SHOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN
The hospital room fell into complete silence.
Daniel leaned closer to his sister, his face tight with concern.
“Hannah,” he said gently. “What do you mean he was following Alex?”
Hannah's breathing became uneven. The heart monitor beside her emitted slow, rhythmic beeps that seemed unbearably loud in the quiet room. She tried to lift her hand, but exhaustion forced it back onto the blanket.
Alex stepped forward.
“You don't have to force yourself,” he said. “You should rest.”
Hannah shook her head weakly.
“No... listen...”
She closed her eyes for several seconds before speaking again.
“This morning... before Lily woke up... I noticed a man watching someone across the terminal.”
“Who?” Daniel asked.
“I couldn't see clearly at first.”
She swallowed painfully.
“Then... I saw who he was watching.”
Her eyes fixed on Alex again.
“You.”
Alex frowned.
“That can't be right.”
“I've never met you before today.”
“I know,” Hannah whispered.
“That... is why I remembered.”
Daniel exchanged a quick glance with Alex.
“Tell us everything.”
Hannah nodded faintly.
“I arrived almost an hour early. Lily wanted pancakes, so we sat near the café.”
“I noticed a man pretending to read a newspaper.”
“He never turned a page.”
“He wasn't watching passengers.”
“He kept looking toward Gate 42.”
Alex's stomach tightened.
“That was my gate.”
“Yes.”
Hannah continued.
“When you walked into the waiting area, his attention changed immediately.”
“He stood up.”
“He followed you from a distance.”
“He stopped every time you stopped.”
Daniel's expression darkened.
“You're certain?”
“I spent years working in airport security.”
Both men froze.
Alex blinked.
“You worked... in airport security?”
“For almost twelve years.”
Daniel looked surprised.
“You never told me you noticed that.”
“I didn't think it mattered... until today.”
Hannah drew another difficult breath.
“He wasn't behaving like an ordinary traveler.”
“He was conducting surveillance.”
Alex felt the words settle heavily inside him.
Surveillance.
Not coincidence.
Not curiosity.
Someone had deliberately watched him long before Lily ever asked for help.
“But why?” Alex asked quietly.
“I've never seen him before.”
Hannah's eyes slowly drifted toward the window.
“I don't know.”
“But when I realized he was following you...”
“I stood up to warn someone.”
Her voice became almost inaudible.
“That's... the last thing I remember... before everything went black.”
The room fell silent again.
Daniel slowly straightened.
“So my sister collapsed... just before she could warn someone.”
Alex nodded.
“And whoever followed me was already nearby.”
Daniel's phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed instantly.
“What happened?” Alex asked.
Daniel looked up.
“Airport security reviewed more cameras.”
“They didn't just find the man in the gray jacket.”
May you like
“They found another person.”
“Standing with him.”
