Chapter 2 - THE VOICE INSIDE THE MONITOR
The federal agent froze the recording.
My mother’s voice disappeared mid-breath.
Jason stopped smiling.
“Play it again,” I said.
The agent looked at me.
“You need medical attention.”
“Play it.”
He pressed the button.
Static filled the room.
Then my mother spoke again.
“Emily, if Jason finds the files, run. Do not call the local police. Do not trust anyone from St. Matthew’s.”
The message ended.
I stared at the monitor.
My mother died when I was twelve.
A house fire.
Closed-casket funeral.
Jason laughed against the wall.
“You still believe everything they told you.”
The agent restraining him said, “Quiet.”
I looked at the second man.
“Who are you?”
“Special Agent Daniel Ross.”
He indicated his partner.
“Special Agent Mark Hayes.”
“What agency?”
“Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
“Why are you in my house?”
Ross glanced toward Jason.
“Because your husband was under surveillance.”
“For assault?”
“No.”
My leg throbbed beneath the torn jeans.
Blood soaked the fabric.
“What did he do?”
Ross removed a clear evidence bag from his jacket and sealed the baby monitor inside.
“We believe he was searching for classified material stolen nineteen years ago.”
Jason shook his head.
“They’re lying.”
Hayes turned him toward the broken doorway.
“You can explain that downtown.”
Jason planted his feet.
“You arrest me, she dies.”
Both agents stopped.
I felt the baby move.
Ross looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Jason stared at my stomach.
“I’m the only one who knows what was put inside her.”
My hand moved instinctively over my belly.
“What are you talking about?”
He smiled again.
“Ask Dr. Leonard.”
Dr. Samuel Leonard was my obstetrician.
Jason had chosen him.
Jason arranged every appointment.
Jason insisted on attending every scan.
Ross’s eyes narrowed.
“Who is Leonard?”
Jason said nothing more.
Hayes dragged him into the hallway.
Two paramedics entered behind them.
One checked my leg while the other placed a fetal monitor against my abdomen.
A rapid heartbeat filled the room.
My baby was alive.
I began crying.
Ross remained near the dresser, examining the scattered papers on the floor.
Most were bank statements and insurance forms Jason had thrown from my locked desk.
He lifted one page.
My father’s name appeared at the top.
THOMAS HARPER — DEFENSE CONTRACTS DIVISION.
I had never seen the document.
“My father was an accountant,” I said.
Ross looked at me carefully.
“No, Mrs. Reed.”
He handed me the page.
“He designed secure communications systems for the Department of Defense.”
The room tilted.
“That’s impossible.”
“He disappeared during an internal investigation.”
“He died in the fire.”
“No body was recovered.”
I looked toward the evidence bag.
My mother’s voice.
My father’s files.
Jason’s warning.
The paramedic cut my jeans around the wound.
The drill had torn the skin but missed the muscle.
“You’re lucky,” she said.
No.
Luck had nothing to do with why Jason stopped before pushing deeper.
He needed me alive.
I looked at Ross.
“What classified material?”
“A digital key.”
“Where is it?”
“We hoped you could tell us.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t know anything about my father’s work.”
Ross glanced at my pregnant stomach.
“Jason appears to believe otherwise.”
Outside, Hayes shouted.
Footsteps pounded down the hall.
Ross drew his weapon and moved toward the door.
Then the house lights went out.
The fetal monitor stopped.
The bedroom fell into darkness.
Jason’s voice echoed from downstairs.
“Emily!”
May you like
A gunshot followed.
Then Hayes screamed.
