Chapter 5 - The Question Behind His Smile
Emily could hear her own heartbeat.
Daniel stood only a few feet away.
His expression was calm, but his eyes were not.
They moved from her hands to the covered suitcase and then back to her face.
"I asked if you touched anything," he repeated.
Emily shrugged.
"Why would I?"
Daniel smiled.
It was the same smile that had once made her feel safe.
Now it looked rehearsed.
"I forgot my work badge," he said.
He walked past her and opened a cabinet near the wall.
Emily knew the badge was usually kept in his jacket pocket.
She also knew he had not checked the cabinet.
He was pretending.
So was she.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked.
"Not really."
"Bad dreams?"
The question sounded ordinary, but she felt the trap inside it.
Emily leaned against the workbench.
"The phone light woke me."
Daniel stopped moving.
Only for a second.
Then he continued searching through the empty cabinet.
"My battery probably died."
"I turned it off."
This time, he looked directly at her.
"Was it unlocked?"
Emily forced a small laugh.
"No. Why?"
Daniel closed the cabinet.
"No reason."
The lie passed between them like a blade.
He stepped close enough to kiss her cheek.
His hand rested briefly on her shoulder.
Too gentle.
Too deliberate.
Then he whispered, "You know you can tell me anything."
Emily looked into his eyes.
"Can you?"
His smile vanished.
For one second, she saw something she had never seen before.
Fear.
Not guilt.
Not anger.
Fear.
Then the expression disappeared.
Daniel picked up an old employee badge from the workbench and slipped it into his pocket.
"Found it."
He left the garage without another word.
Emily waited until his car disappeared again.
Then she remained completely still for five minutes.
Only after she was certain he had gone did she return to the suitcase.
The blanket was still there.
But something had changed.
The lock was closed.
Emily had left it open.
Daniel had locked it while standing beside her.
Without touching it.
She crouched down.
A faint red light blinked near the handle.
There was a hidden electronic sensor built into the luggage tag.
The code had not merely opened the lock.
It had sent an alert.
Daniel already knew someone had accessed it.
Emily backed away.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket.
A new message appeared from an unknown number.
Do not go back into the suitcase. He is monitoring it.
She stared at the screen.
A second message followed.
You have less time than you think.
Then a photograph arrived.
It showed Emily standing in the garage.
The picture had been taken less than a minute earlier.
May you like
From inside her own house.
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