Chapter 6: The Person Watching Us
I drove home faster than I should have.
Every traffic light felt like an obstacle.
Every second felt dangerous.
Someone had access to my house.
Someone knew what I was doing.
And suddenly, I understood why Vanessa had always seemed one step ahead.
She wasn’t guessing.
She was watching.
When I pulled into the driveway, I noticed something immediately.
The front door was open.
I grabbed my phone.
“Ethan, stay behind me.””
He nodded.
We walked inside.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
“Vanessa?””
No answer.
“Lily?””
Nothing.
Then I heard a sound upstairs.
A drawer closing.
I moved toward the stairs.
Ethan grabbed my arm.
“Dad.””
I whispered:
“Stay here.””
I walked upstairs.
The hallway was dark.
My bedroom door was open.
Inside, someone was searching through my desk.
I turned on the light.
The person froze.
It wasn’t Vanessa.
It wasn’t James.
It was Chloe.
She looked terrified.
“Chloe?””
She immediately dropped the papers.
“I wasn’t stealing.””
“Then what were you doing?””
She started crying.
“I was looking for something.””
“What?””
She looked at the papers in her hand.
“Proof.””
I stared at her.
“Proof of what?””
She handed them to me.
They were printed emails.
Between Vanessa and James.
My hands shook as I read them.
The messages were worse than I imagined.
James had promised Vanessa money.
Vanessa had promised James access.
And together, they had planned to make Ethan look guilty.
But then I saw the newest message.
Sent that morning.
From James.
*The boy knows too much. Make sure Lily stays quiet.*
My heart stopped.
I looked at Chloe.
“Did James send this?””
She nodded.
“Mom got scared.””
“Where is your mother?””
Chloe looked toward the window.
“She left.””
“Where?””
“I don’t know.””
I looked back at the message.
The boy knows too much.
I suddenly realized.
Ethan.
They weren’t just trying to remove him from the house.
They were afraid of him.
Because Ethan had something they didn’t know about.
“What does Lily know?”” I asked.
Chloe wiped her face.
“She found something months ago.””
“What?””
“She found a hidden folder on Mommy’s computer.””
My pulse increased.
“What was inside?””
Chloe looked terrified.
“Pictures.””
“Pictures of what?””
She whispered:
“Documents from your company.””
I stared at her.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
I answered.
A voice spoke.
“Richard.””
I knew immediately.
James.
“Where is my family?””
A pause.
Then a calm reply.
“You should have stayed out of this.””
My hand tightened around the phone.
“What did you do?””
He laughed softly.
“I warned Vanessa this would happen.””
My blood ran cold.
“Where is she?””
Another pause.
Then James said:
“She’s with me.””
I looked at Chloe.
Her face went white.
“Why?””
James lowered his voice.
“Because she finally realized something.””
“What?””
“That she was never my partner.””
I froze.
“What does that mean?””
His answer was quiet.
Cold.
“It means Vanessa was only useful until I got what I needed.””
The call ended.
And on my phone screen, a new message appeared.
A photo.
Vanessa sitting in a dark room.
Her hands tied.
May you like
Underneath it were four words.
*You’re next, Richard.*
