Chapter 7 - The Password
The medical team stabilized the baby without performing an emergency delivery.
Emma remained weak, but her mind was clear.
A detective named Laura Ramirez entered the room after doctors approved a short interview. Daniel stood near the window while Michael and Evelyn were kept outside under supervision.
The detective placed Emma’s phone inside an evidence bag.
“We need your passcode.”
Emma gave it.
The screen opened.
Michael had deleted the emergency recording.
But deleting a file was not the same as destroying it.
“Check the cloud account,” Emma said.
The detective attempted to sign in.
Password rejected.
Daniel moved closer.
“Michael changed it.”
Emma closed her eyes.
He had changed her banking password, her email password, and even the code to their home security system.
He told her it was because pregnancy had made her forgetful.
The humiliation of believing him burned through her.
“There may be a recovery email,” Detective Ramirez said.
Emma named her old school account.
That had been changed too.
Michael had spent weeks sealing every exit before taking her to the mountain.
Then Emma remembered something.
“My mother’s attic box.”
Daniel looked up.
“What box?”
“Linda kept documents in a metal box. After she died, I stored it in my classroom closet because I couldn’t bring myself to open it.”
“Does Michael know?”
“No.”
The detective asked what might be inside.
Emma looked at Daniel.
“Maybe the truth.”
Outside the room, Michael demanded to leave.
The officer told him he was not under arrest yet, but his clothing and vehicle were being held for examination.
Evelyn pulled him aside.
Through the glass, Emma watched them whisper.
Michael’s face twisted.
Evelyn slapped him.
It was not a mother comforting her frightened son.
It was a commander punishing a failed employee.
Then Evelyn took out her phone.
Daniel’s own phone rang seconds later.
He answered.
A security company responsible for Northstar’s private archive had reported a break-in attempt.
Someone was trying to access Rebecca Hayes’s sealed files.
Daniel stared at Evelyn through the glass.
She met his gaze without blinking.
“She’s cleaning up,” he said.
Emma’s fear became anger.
“Then stop her.”
Daniel shook his head.
“We don’t move until we know what she’s after.”
Detective Ramirez received another call.
She listened, then turned toward Emma.
“An officer reached your school.”
Emma felt relief.
Until the detective continued.
“Your classroom was broken into this afternoon.”
May you like
The metal box was gone.
👉 The only person who knew what Linda Carter had hidden was already one step ahead of them.
