Chapter 5 - The Second Door.
Daniel left the bank through a service exit after asking a security employee to walk him to his car.
He did not tell the employee why.
He did not know whom to trust enough to explain.
The message on his phone had disappeared before he could photograph it.
That frightened him more than if it had remained.
Someone had access to his device.
Someone knew he had opened Claire’s box.
Daniel drove straight to an electronics store, bought a basic prepaid phone with cash, and powered his regular phone down again.
Then he removed its SIM card.
When he reached home, the front gate was open.
He had closed it himself before leaving.
Daniel parked outside instead of driving in.
He called Mrs. Alvarez on the new phone.
She answered after one ring.
“Mr. Mercer, where are you?”
Her voice was low.
“Outside.”
“Do not come through the front entrance.”
Daniel’s chest tightened.
“Where is Sophie?”
“With me.”
“Is she safe?”
“Yes, but Mr. Keene is here.”
Daniel looked toward the house.
Mason’s silver sedan was partly visible beyond the hedges.
“How did he get in?”
“Your mother opened the door.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Of course she had.
Caroline had warned him about Mason and then let him inside.
Either she had been lying from the beginning, or someone had forced her to change sides.
Daniel entered through the kitchen door.
He heard Mason’s voice from the office.
“Daniel is confused right now.”
Caroline answered too quietly for him to hear.
Daniel moved upstairs first.
He found Sophie and Mrs. Alvarez in the guest room.
Sophie ran into his arms.
“Mason said you told him to get Grandma’s bag.”
“I didn’t.”
“I knew.”
That simple answer cut deeper than Daniel expected.
His seven-year-old daughter understood that something was wrong while he was still trying to decide which adult had betrayed him first.
He handed the bank materials to Mrs. Alvarez.
“If anything happens downstairs, take Sophie to your sister’s house and call the police.”
Mrs. Alvarez nodded once.
Daniel returned to the office.
Mason was standing behind the desk as if he owned it.
Caroline sat on the sofa, stiff and silent.
Mason smiled when Daniel entered.
“There you are.”
Daniel closed the door.
“How did you know there was a problem here?”
“Your mother called me.”
Daniel looked at Caroline.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly.
Mason noticed.
His smile vanished.
Daniel understood immediately.
The call had never happened.
Mason had expected Caroline to support the lie.
She had not.
Daniel took one step closer.
“Why was Claire at the Northstar warehouse eight days before she died?”
For the first time in fifteen years of friendship, Daniel saw Mason lose control of his face.
It lasted less than a second.
Then Mason laughed.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Daniel placed the photograph on the desk.
Mason did not touch it.
Caroline whispered, “Tell him.”
Mason turned toward her.
“You should have left this alone.”
Daniel’s stomach tightened.
That sentence was almost identical to the message from the bank.
Then a quiet click came from behind the bookcase.
All three adults turned.
The hidden compartment Claire had built was open again.
Inside the empty space, a second panel had slid aside.
May you like
Behind it was a small black recording device with one red light blinking.
The Bag Beside the Chair
