Chapter 5: Someone Was Already Waiting
At 1:17 a.m., I was sitting in the back of a police vehicle outside an abandoned storage facility.
The rain had stopped, but water still dripped from the metal awnings.
Detective Miller sat beside me, studying photographs on his phone.
Daniel was in another vehicle with two officers.
The facility was surrounded by a chain-link fence, and a faded sign above the entrance read:
*WESTERN STORAGE AND LOGISTICS.*
It looked exactly like the kind of place people used when they wanted something forgotten.
"Are you certain this is the right building?"" Miller asked.
"Yes.""
I pointed toward the far end of the property.
"Matthew said his company rented a unit in the older section. He called it Unit 214.""
Miller nodded to an officer.
"Let's move.""
We entered through the main gate.
A security guard approached us, his face pale.
"Detective, I didn't know what else to do.""
"What happened?""
"Someone forced open a unit about half an hour ago. I called the police when I saw the damage.""
"Did you see anyone?""
The guard hesitated.
"One man. Black jacket. He left through the rear entrance.""
"Did you recognize him?""
"No, sir.""
Miller turned to another officer.
"Check the rear perimeter.""
We continued down the narrow corridor.
Metal doors lined both sides. The air smelled of dust, damp cardboard, and old machinery.
I stopped at Unit 214.
The lock was broken.
The door stood slightly open.
Miller raised his hand.
"Nobody moves until we check inside.""
Two officers entered first.
Their flashlights swept across shelves, boxes, and a small metal desk.
Then one of them called out.
"Detective!""
Miller stepped inside.
The unit had been searched.
Boxes were overturned. Papers covered the floor. A filing cabinet had been forced open.
Someone had clearly been looking for something specific.
I approached the desk.
A framed photograph lay facedown beside a broken lamp.
I picked it up.
It showed Daniel, Matthew, and a young woman standing outside the Whitmore Grand Hotel during its opening ceremony.
Daniel was smiling.
Matthew had one arm around his brother.
The young woman stood between them.
I recognized her immediately.
It was Vanessa.
But there was something strange about the photograph.
Vanessa was wearing a wedding ring.
The date printed on the back was eleven years earlier.
Daniel had told me that he and Vanessa married eight years ago.
"Detective?""
I showed him the photograph.
He examined the date.
"Interesting.""
Daniel entered the unit a moment later.
"What is it?""
Miller handed him the photograph.
Daniel stared at it.
"I've never seen this.""
"Are you sure?""
"Absolutely. Vanessa and I met eight years ago.""
He turned the photograph over again.
"Why would she be standing with Matthew eleven years ago?""
Nobody answered.
I continued searching the desk.
Under a stack of damaged folders, I found a small envelope with my name written on it.
*EMILY CARTER.*
My heart began racing.
"Detective, look.""
He approached.
"Don't open it yet.""
He photographed the envelope and checked the surrounding area before allowing me to remove its contents.
Inside was a handwritten note.
I unfolded it.
Emily, if you're reading this, someone has finally opened the storage unit.
I need you to understand something. Vanessa was not the only person involved.
Daniel knows more than he remembers.
I stopped reading.
Daniel stepped closer.
"What does it say?""
I continued.
The money was never the real reason they wanted me dead.
Look inside the blue folder.
I searched the desk.
A blue folder was wedged behind the filing cabinet.
Inside were copies of bank transfers, hotel ownership documents, and several photographs.
One photograph showed Matthew standing outside a private clinic.
Another showed Vanessa entering the same building.
But the final photograph made my stomach turn.
It showed Richard Hayes meeting a man in a parking garage.
The man was holding a briefcase.
On the back, Matthew had written:
*THE NIGHT DANIEL FORGOT EVERYTHING.*
Daniel took the photograph.
His fingers began trembling.
"What's this supposed to mean?""
I looked at him.
"Do you remember anything unusual happening to you eleven months ago?""
He stared at me.
"Before Matthew died?""
"Yes.""
Daniel closed his eyes.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he slowly sat down.
"I had a car accident.""
Miller turned.
"When?""
"About two weeks before Matthew died. I was driving home from a business dinner. I woke up in a hospital.""
"How serious was it?""
"Doctors said I had suffered a concussion. I was unconscious for almost thirty-six hours.""
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
"Vanessa told me Richard had taken care of everything while I recovered.""
I looked at the bank statements.
Several transactions had been authorized during the period Daniel was hospitalized.
One of them transferred almost four million dollars into a company called Whitmore Strategic Holdings.
"Who owns that company?"" Miller asked.
Daniel shook his head.
"I've never heard of it.""
The detective photographed the documents.
Then I noticed something written in the corner of the blue folder.
A date.
The day Daniel had been discharged from the hospital.
And underneath it, in Matthew's handwriting:
*HE IS NOT THE SAME PERSON WHO WENT INTO THAT HOSPITAL.*
Daniel read the sentence.
"What does that mean?""
Before anyone could answer, an officer shouted from outside.
"Detective! We've got something!""
Miller rushed out.
We followed him to the rear entrance.
A black SUV was parked beyond the fence.
Its engine was running.
The driver was watching us.
"Police! Turn off the engine!""
The vehicle suddenly reversed.
An officer shouted as the SUV crashed through a section of the fence.
It disappeared into the darkness.
Miller immediately radioed for assistance.
Then another officer approached, holding something inside a gloved hand.
It was a small black phone.
"We found this underneath the driver's seat of the vehicle's abandoned parking space.""
Miller examined it.
The screen was still lit.
There was one incoming message.
*DELETE THE RECORDING OF DANIEL BEFORE HE REMEMBERS WHAT HE DID.*
Daniel stared at the screen.
"What recording?""
May you like
Miller looked at him.
"That's exactly what we're going to find out.""
