Chapter 6 - The Locked Apartment
Daniel had not returned to the apartment in eleven months.
The building stood at the edge of the city, old and narrow, with rusted balconies and a flickering light above the entrance. Rain had begun to fall by the time he arrived.
Eleanor insisted on coming with him.
Victor came as well.
Daniel had refused at first, but Victor claimed he knew details about the old studio that might save Samuel. Daniel did not trust him, yet leaving him behind felt even more dangerous.
They climbed to the fourth floor.
The apartment door was already open.
Daniel stopped in the hallway.
“I locked this place after my mother died.”
Eleanor whispered, “Someone has been here.”
Inside, the furniture remained covered with white sheets. Dust floated through the weak light from the window, but fresh footprints crossed the floor.
Daniel moved toward his mother’s bedroom.
The wardrobe doors stood open.
Clothes had been thrown aside.
“They were searching for the key,” Victor said.
Daniel turned.
“How did you know it was hidden here?”
Victor did not answer.
Daniel walked to the kitchen and removed a loose tile beneath the sink. Behind it was a small metal box.
He opened it.
The brass key marked W-3 was still inside.
Alongside it lay a sealed envelope with Daniel’s name written across the front.
His hands shook as he opened it.
Inside was a single page in his mother’s handwriting.
Daniel, if you are reading this, Samuel has returned or Victor has found you. Neither event is an accident.
Victor stepped forward.
“Give me the letter.”
Daniel moved it away.
Eleanor stood between them.
“Let him finish.”
Daniel continued reading.
The tattoo is not simply a memory. It is a map. The strings represent six locations. The broken note marks the place where we hid the original recording.
Daniel looked at his wrist.
For years, he had thought the uneven lines were only the result of an old design copied badly.
Now he saw tiny numbers hidden within the guitar strings.
1. 4. 7. 9. 12. 18.
Eleanor leaned closer.
“Those could be storage compartments.”
Victor’s face had gone pale again.
Daniel noticed.
“You know what they mean.”
Before Victor could respond, the bedroom door slammed shut by itself.
A second later, a heavy object struck the front door from the hallway.
Daniel rushed toward it.
The lock had been jammed from outside.
Then smoke began to enter beneath the kitchen wall.
Victor stared toward the window.
“They’re trying to burn the apartment.”
Daniel grabbed the metal box and the letter.
Eleanor pointed toward the fire escape.
But when Daniel pulled the window open, he saw that the ladder below had been removed.
Someone had prepared the trap before they arrived.
Then a figure appeared on the roof across the alley.
The stranger raised a phone and took a photograph of them through the window.
May you like
Daniel recognized the coat.
It was the same dark coat Samuel had worn in the ballroom.
