Chapter 13 - The Dying Wish
We arrived at the suburban house on Elm Street. A large real estate FOR SALE sign stood on lawn. Workers were loading old furniture into moving truck. Emma and I walked into dark garage area. The padlocked door was removed by police earlier. The garage was empty, clean, and well swept. We wanted to check space one final time today. I walked toward the back tool bench corner. Something caught my eye under the wooden workbench shelf. A small metal box was hidden behind drywall. I reached under workbench and pulled box out. The box was locked with small key lock. I used a screwdriver to pry metal lid open. Inside lay a stack of old leather journals. The journals belonged to our late mother Sarah. Emma sat on wooden bench, opening first journal. The pages were filled with her elegant handwriting text. She documented her daily life during marriage with Robert. She wrote about her suspicions regarding his past. On page forty-two, a specific entry stood out: "Robert has a secret business partner in Chicago." "A man named Marcus who helps launder money." "If anything happens to me, look for Marcus." My heart skipped a beat as I read name. We thought Robert was working entirely alone here. Now we discovered a secondary criminal partner existed. A partner who helped him move stolen assets overseas. Emma looked up at me with worried hazel eyes. "Ethan, do you think this Marcus knows about us?" "I don't know, Emma," I answered carefully. "But we need to give this journal to police." I pulled out my phone to call Detective Miller. Before I could dial number, my phone chimed. An unknown text message appeared on screen. The message contained a single chilling photo attachment. The photo showed Emma and me standing in garage. The photo was taken five seconds ago from street.
📖 Chapter 14 brings the high-stakes confrontation with the unknown stalker outside. Read on right now. 👇
