Chapter 4: The Locker
Aaliyah didn't move.
The unknown message remained on her screen, glowing against the dark apartment.
*STOP LOOKING FOR MARCUS.*
Then another line.
*OR YOU'LL FIND OUT WHY HE REALLY LEFT.*
She read it twice.
The black SUV was still across the street.
Still running.
Still watching.
Aaliyah slowly stepped away from the window.
Her instincts told her to call the police.
Her heart told her to call Marcus.
But neither answered the question burning through her mind.
Why had Marcus told her to check the basement?
She grabbed her coat, shoved her phone into her pocket, and locked the apartment door behind her.
The elevator felt painfully slow.
When the doors opened in the basement, fluorescent lights buzzed overhead.
Aaliyah stepped out.
The storage area smelled like concrete, dust, and old cardboard. Pipes ran along the ceiling. Somewhere in the distance, water dripped steadily.
She walked toward Marcus's locker.
Her hands were shaking.
The padlock hung from the metal latch.
She entered the combination she remembered.
Nothing.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
“Come on,” she whispered.
Then she remembered Marcus's favorite number.
She entered it.
*Click.*
The lock opened.
Aaliyah pulled the door up.
Inside were several plastic bins, an old suitcase, a toolbox, and a cardboard box marked *TAX DOCUMENTS*.
She almost laughed.
“Seriously?””
She pulled out the box.
Nothing.
She checked the suitcase.
Old clothes.
She opened the toolbox.
Nothing.
Then she noticed the back wall.
One of the concrete panels looked newer than the others.
Aaliyah crouched.
There was a thin black envelope taped behind it.
Her name was written across the front.
Her heart sank.
She tore it open.
Inside was a flash drive and a photograph.
The photograph showed Marcus standing outside a courthouse.
Beside him was a woman Aaliyah recognized immediately.
Her mother.
Aaliyah's breath stopped.
Her mother had died five years earlier.
She turned the photograph over.
There was a date written on the back.
*October 14.*
Three years after her mother's death.
Aaliyah stared at it.
“That’s impossible.””
Her phone rang.
She nearly dropped the photograph.
It was Marcus.
She answered instantly.
“Where are you?””
“Aaliyah, listen carefully.””
“No. You listen to me. Why is my mother in a photograph with you?””
Silence.
“Marcus?””
“I was hoping you wouldn't find that yet.””
“Yet?””
“Aaliyah, I need you to leave the basement.””
“Why?””
“Because someone may have followed you.””
She looked toward the hallway.
Empty.
“You knew this would happen.””
“I knew it was possible.””
“You've been lying to me.””
“I've been protecting you.””
“From what?””
Marcus exhaled.
“Your mother.””
Aaliyah's knees weakened.
“She's dead.””
“I know.””
“Then why are you talking like she's alive?””
“Because the woman in that photograph isn't your mother.””
Aaliyah stared at the picture.
The resemblance was almost exact.
Same dark hair.
Same small scar beneath the left eyebrow.
Same gold necklace.
Same face.
Her voice dropped.
“Who is she?””
“I don't know yet.””
“What do you mean, you don't know?””
“I found her three months ago.””
Aaliyah gripped the phone.
“Where?””
“Outside a bank.””
“What bank?””
“The one where the money went.””
She closed her eyes.
Everything was becoming more confusing.
“Marcus, tell me the truth.””
“I am.””
“No. You keep giving me clues.””
“I don't have all the answers.””
“Then why did you leave?””
This time, Marcus didn't answer immediately.
When he finally spoke, his voice sounded broken.
“Because I realized they weren't trying to destroy our marriage.””
Aaliyah swallowed.
“What were they trying to destroy?””
“You.””
A metallic sound echoed down the basement corridor.
Aaliyah turned.
“Marcus…”
“What?””
“I heard something.””
“Get out. Now.””
The lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then half the basement went dark.
Aaliyah grabbed the flash drive.
Footsteps sounded from behind the storage doors.
Slow.
Measured.
Getting closer.
“Marcus, someone is here.””
“Run.””
She moved toward the stairwell.
A shadow appeared at the end of the corridor.
Aaliyah froze.
The figure stepped into the light.
It was a man wearing a dark baseball cap.
He looked directly at her.
Then he smiled.
“Aaliyah?””
She backed away.
“How do you know my name?””
The man took one step closer.
“You should ask your husband.””
Aaliyah turned and ran.
She sprinted up the stairs, nearly falling twice.
Behind her, the man shouted.
“Give me the drive!””
She reached the upper level and slammed through the emergency exit.
Cold rain hit her face.
She ran toward the street.
A car horn blared.
Aaliyah jumped aside.
A taxi stopped.
She yanked open the passenger door.
“Drive!””
The driver looked at her.
“Ma’am, where?””
“Anywhere. Just go!””
As the taxi pulled away, Aaliyah looked through the rear window.
The man from the basement stood beneath the awning.
He wasn't chasing her.
He was holding his phone.
Then Aaliyah's phone buzzed.
A new message from Marcus.
*Marcus: If you have the drive, don't open it yet.*
Aaliyah stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
*Marcus: Because the first video will make you believe I betrayed you.*
She looked down at the black flash drive in her trembling hand.
May you like
And suddenly wondered—
What if Marcus had known all along that she would find it?
