Chapter 4: The Hidden File
Daniel didn’t sleep that night.
Neither did I.
We sat in the living room with every light turned on, watching the security cameras around the property.
Every few minutes, Daniel checked the front door.
Every few minutes, I checked Elijah’s crib.
Fear had changed the way our house felt.
The place where we had celebrated birthdays and brought our newborn son home now felt like a place full of secrets.
At sunrise, Daniel finally spoke.
“I need to show you something.””
I looked at him.
“Something you should have shown me years ago?””
He accepted the accusation without defending himself.
“Yes.””
He walked to his office.
I followed.
Behind a row of books, he pressed a hidden button.
A small compartment opened in the wall.
Inside was a black folder.
My stomach dropped.
“You said you didn’t know about any documents.””
“I didn’t know Margaret had this.””
“But you knew this existed.””
Daniel looked down.
“I knew my father kept records.””
He opened the folder.
Inside were old contracts, photographs, and medical paperwork.
I scanned the pages.
Most of it meant nothing.
Until I saw one name.
*Naomi Brooks.*
My blood ran cold.
“Why is my name here?””
Daniel grabbed the document.
“I don’t know.””
The paper was dated six months before we met.
Six months before I ever stepped inside this house.
“What is this?””
Daniel read silently.
His expression changed.
“Daniel?””
He handed it to me.
It was a report.
A private investigation.
About me.
My childhood.
My family.
My entire life.
Someone had been watching me long before I knew Daniel existed.
I turned the page.
There was a note attached.
*Subject selected due to biological connection.*
I stopped breathing.
“Biological connection to who?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
Because he was staring at another page.
A page with a photograph attached.
A photograph of my mother.
I had never seen the picture before.
She was younger.
Standing beside a man.
A man I recognized immediately.
Michael Carter.
“What is this?”” I whispered.
Daniel looked devastated.
“I swear I didn’t know.””
“Then why was your family investigating my mother?””
“I don’t know.””
I wanted to believe him.
I really did.
But too many secrets were appearing at once.
Before I could say anything, the front door opened.
We both froze.
“Naomi?””
Margaret’s voice echoed through the house.
Daniel immediately stepped in front of me.
“What are you doing here?””
Margaret entered slowly.
For the first time since I met her, she looked afraid.
Not defensive.
Afraid.
“I came because you need to know the truth.””
I held Elijah tighter.
“The truth about what?””
Margaret looked at Daniel.
“About what your father did.””
Daniel’s face hardened.
“My father died.””
“Yes.””
She swallowed.
“But his secrets didn’t.””
She placed an envelope on the table.
“I found this hidden before Michael returned.””
Daniel stared at it.
“Why should we trust you?””
Margaret looked at Elijah.
Then back at me.
“Because yesterday, I was trying to stop someone else from getting to him.””
I stepped forward.
“You were forcing milk into my baby’s mouth.””
Her face collapsed.
“I know what it looked like.””
“It looked like you were hurting him.””
“I was trying to make him spit something out.””
The room went silent.
“What?””
Margaret opened her purse and removed a small object wrapped in cloth.
“I found this inside his blanket.””
She placed it on the table.
A tiny metal key.
Daniel picked it up.
A number was engraved on it.
*314.*
Margaret’s voice became barely a whisper.
“Your father hid something in this house.””
She looked at Daniel.
“And whoever has been searching for it already knows Elijah is the key to finding it.””
My heart stopped.
“Elijah?””
Margaret nodded.
Then the lights suddenly went out.
Every camera monitor in the room turned black.
Daniel reached for his phone.
No signal.
A second later, someone knocked on the front door.
Three slow knocks.
Margaret stepped backward.
Her face turned pale.
“No.””
I whispered.
“Who is it?””
She stared at the door.
Then said the words that made my entire body go cold.
May you like
“He’s here.””
The doorknob slowly began to turn.
