Chapter 4 - The Floorboard Secret
I slipped out the hospital side exit into rain.
The storm raged fiercely across the dark city streets.
I drove my unmarked cruiser back toward Apartment 4B.
I parked two blocks away to avoid being spotted.
I pulled my raincoat hood low over my forehead.
I climbed the dark, creaking rear emergency fire escape.
I reached the fourth-floor window of Clara's apartment unit.
I used my tactical knife to pry window lock.
The wooden window frame slid open with soft groan.
I climbed inside the pitch-black, freezing master bedroom.
Rainwater dripped from my coat onto the hardwood floor.
I pulled out my penlight, keeping the beam low.
Lily said the drive was hidden inside bedroom wall.
I walked over to the closet area near bed.
I tapped along the wooden baseboard panels with fingers.
A hollow sound echoed back near the corner wall.
I used my knife blade to pry panel away.
Behind the wood lay a small steel vault box.
The safe required a four-digit electronic security code.
I thought back to my childhood memories with Clara.
Our mother's birthday date was four twelve, May fourth.
I typed zero, four, one, two onto keypad.
The electronic lock chimed green with a soft click.
The heavy steel vault door opened into dark space.
Inside lay a sleek black encrypted satellite hard drive.
Beside the drive rested Clara's handwritten leather diary.
My hands trembled wildly as I picked items up.
I opened the leather diary to the final page.
Clara's familiar handwriting filled the white paper lines:
"If anything happens to me, find my sister Rachel."
"Chief Harrison runs an illegal human trafficking syndicate here."
"He uses Landlord Vance's apartments to stash victims."
"I gathered bank records proving fifty million dollar bribes."
"The evidence is saved on the black satellite drive."
My breath hitched in my throat as I read.
My sister had risked everything to expose city corruption.
She did it to protect innocent families like hers.
Suddenly, a floorboard creaked loudly in the living room.
Shadows shifted past the open bedroom door frame fast.
A heavy metallic sound rang through the dark room.
A gun hammer was cocked back in total darkness.
Landlord Vance stepped into the bedroom with drawn pistol.
A wicked, greedy smile spread across his pale face.
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"Hand over that hard drive, Officer Brooks," Vance.
📖 Chapter 5 brings a deadly fight inside the dark apartment. Keep reading to see how the trap unfolds. 👇
