Chapter 3 - Claire's Key Four days earlier, Noah had turned thirteen.
That birthday had changed everything.
We drove to Claire's old apartment.
I had kept paying the rent because I couldn't bring myself to empty it.
Vanessa had called that sentimental.
Now I wondered why she had wanted the apartment emptied so badly.
Noah knelt beside the radiator.
He slid the brass key behind a loose section of baseboard.
Click.
A hidden panel opened.
Inside were two things.
A cheap burner phone.
And an envelope.
Noah's hands trembled as he opened it.
The note contained only a few sentences.
Noah, if you're reading this, something went wrong.
Do not trust messages that come from me after June 14.
Trust Uncle Daniel only if he is willing to admit when he was wrong.
I stared at the last sentence.
Noah noticed.
"You were wrong about Mom."
I swallowed.
"I know."
The burner phone contained a list of dates.
Company invoice numbers.
Initials.
V.C.
M.H.
E.P.
Vanessa Carter.
Marcus Hale.
Elliot Price.
Our chief financial officer.
At the bottom was an address.
WESTBROOK SELF STORAGE.
UNIT 218.
Then the phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Noah and I were standing inside Claire's apartment.
The picture had been taken through the bedroom window seconds earlier.
Under the photograph were four words:
LEAVE THE STORAGE UNIT ALONE.
Noah looked at me.
"Someone's watching us."
I stared at the window.
The curtain moved.
I ran outside.
May you like
Nobody was there.
Only a dark blue sedan disappearing around the corner.
Related Stories
