Chapter 8 - THE HOUSE WAS SURROUNDED
The first thing I heard was the sound of glass breaking.
The second was Rachel screaming.
“DOWN!”
I dropped to the floor.
Daniel grabbed Rachel and pulled her behind the stone fireplace.
Thomas pushed the certificate beneath his jacket.
Sofia ran toward me.
“Ryan!”
“Where's Olivia?”
“Upstairs.”
I didn't think.
I ran.
Behind me, I heard the front door splinter.
Men rushed into the house.
They were wearing police uniforms.
But their movements were wrong.
Too organized.
Too aggressive.
Real officers didn't storm a private residence without announcing themselves.
These men didn't care who saw them.
They wanted something.
And I knew exactly what.
The certificate.
I reached the nursery.
Olivia was crying in her crib.
I lifted her immediately.
“Daddy's here.”
She grabbed my shirt.
I kissed her forehead.
Then I heard footsteps on the stairs.
Someone was coming.
I looked around.
The nursery had one door.
One window.
No second exit.
I grabbed the baby monitor and moved toward the closet.
Then Sofia appeared.
“There's a service passage.”
“What?”
She pointed toward the wall behind the bookshelf.
“My uncle's farm had one like this. Your father installed these in several houses.”
I pushed the shelf.
Nothing happened.
Sofia grabbed the lower drawer and pulled.
A hidden panel opened.
I stared.
“You knew about this?”
“No.”
She pushed the panel wider.
A narrow passage appeared.
I carried Olivia inside.
Sofia followed.
We closed the panel.
Seconds later, the nursery door opened.
A man's voice said:
“Search the room.”
Another answered:
“The baby isn't here.”
My heart hammered.
The passage led downward.
We emerged beneath the kitchen.
Daniel and Rachel were waiting.
Thomas joined us.
“Where is the certificate?”
I touched my jacket.
“Here.”
Rachel nodded.
“Good.”
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
“They're searching the house.”
“How do we get out?”
“Garage.”
We moved through the passage.
Suddenly, a loud crash came from above.
Then another.
The men were tearing the house apart.
We reached the garage.
A black SUV waited outside.
Thomas opened the door.
“Get in.”
We loaded Olivia.
Rachel climbed into the passenger seat.
Daniel drove.
As we left the property, I looked back.
Several men stood in the driveway.
One raised a phone.
He wasn't trying to stop us.
He was watching.
Then my phone rang.
Lauren.
I stared at the screen.
I almost ignored it.
Rachel said:
“Answer.”
I did.
“Lauren?”
Her voice was barely audible.
“Ryan.”
“Where are you?”
“Hospital detention.”
“Are you safe?”
“I don't know.”
“What happened?”
“They know you have the certificate.”
My blood went cold.
“How?”
“I told them.”
I stared.
Rachel immediately understood.
“She's lying.”
Lauren continued:
“Ryan, listen to me.”
“I'm listening.”
“You cannot trust Thomas.”
I looked at the man sitting beside me.
Thomas was staring through the windshield.
“What do you mean?”
“Your father didn't trust him.”
Rachel shook her head.
Lauren whispered:
“He was the one who arranged the funeral.”
Thomas's face changed.
I stared at him.
“Is that true?”
He didn't answer.
Lauren's voice broke.
“Ryan, please.”
The line went dead.
I lowered the phone.
Thomas looked at me.
“Your wife is trying to divide us.”
Rachel said:
“Maybe.”
I looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
She turned toward Thomas.
“It means I know what was in the missing fourth box.”
Thomas became still.
“What box?”
Rachel smiled.
“The one you thought Daniel never found.”
Daniel slammed the brakes.
We stopped on an empty road.
Everyone looked at Rachel.
She reached into her coat.
Then pulled out a small USB drive.
“My mother gave this to me.”
Thomas stared.
“That's impossible.”
Rachel looked at him.
“No.”
She held the drive between two fingers.
“What is impossible is that you thought I died before I could recover it.”
I stared at the USB.
“What is on it?”
May you like
Rachel looked at Olivia.
“Proof of who really killed your father.”
