Chapter 4 - The Emergency Call
Michael booked the first available flight home, but departure was still four hours away.
He could not remain in the hotel room.
Every object around him suddenly felt meaningless.
The unopened suitcase.
The company documents.
The expensive dinner receipt on the desk.
His entire life had narrowed to one thought.
Get home.
He called his manager, canceled the remaining meetings, and left for the airport immediately.
During the ride, Detective Laura Bennett contacted him.
“We need to ask several questions.”
“Ask.”
“Did you know about the passage behind the wardrobe?”
“No.”
“How long have you lived in the apartment?”
“Almost seven years.”
“Was the bedroom renovated before you moved in?”
“Yes. The previous owner had built custom storage into the wall.”
“Do you know his name?”
Michael hesitated.
“I don’t remember.”
“We found documents suggesting the apartment was never legally sold by the original owner.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means someone may have retained access.”
Michael looked out at the wet streets.
“Where is Emily?”
“At Saint Matthew’s Hospital.”
“What happened to her?”
“She has bruising on her arms, a cut on her forehead, and signs that she was restrained.”
“Can I speak to her?”
“She’s sedated.”
“And Ethan?”
“He’s with an officer and a child counselor.”
Michael’s voice hardened.
“I want him with my mother.”
“We’re arranging that.”
Detective Bennett paused.
“Mr. Turner, your son told us the man called him by name.”
“I heard that.”
“He also said the man looked like someone from a photograph in your bedroom.”
Michael closed his eyes.
“What photograph?”
“A picture hidden inside a locked drawer.”
“I don’t know anything about it.”
“We found several photographs, letters, and an old passport belonging to a man named Daniel Cross.”
Michael felt cold again.
“Emily told me Daniel was her cousin.”
The detective remained silent.
“What?” Michael demanded.
“Daniel Cross is not her cousin.”
“Then who is he?”
“We’re still confirming that.”
The car stopped at the terminal.
Michael stepped out beneath the rain.
Detective Bennett continued.
“There’s another issue.”
“What now?”
“The bullet fired inside the apartment did not come from a police weapon.”
Michael froze beneath the terminal lights.
“Then Daniel had a gun?”
“We found no firearm.”
“Maybe he took it with him.”
“Possibly.”
But her tone suggested something else.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
The detective exhaled.
“The bullet was fired from inside the hidden passage.”
Michael gripped the handle of his suitcase.
“So someone else was there.”
“We believe so.”
The passage, according to police, extended behind two apartments and connected to an old maintenance shaft. It was narrow, dark, and filled with electrical cables.
Officers found footprints from at least two people.
One set led toward the building’s basement.
The other stopped halfway down the shaft.
As if the second person had simply vanished.
Michael entered the airport, barely aware of the crowds around him.
“Detective, protect my son.”
“We will.”
“And don’t leave Emily alone.”
Another pause followed.
“Mr. Turner…”
“What?”
“When your wife regained consciousness for a few seconds, she asked us one question.”
Michael’s heart pounded.
“What did she ask?”
“She asked whether Daniel had taken the red folder.”
Michael remembered no red folder.
But Detective Bennett did.
May you like
Because the police had found an empty compartment beneath the bedroom floor.
And inside it was a handwritten note addressed to Michael.
