Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Knew More About Grant's Wife Than She AdmittedGrant's house had forty-three cameras.
One inside Lily's bedroom had not been on the original security system.
It was tiny.
Hidden inside a stuffed ladybug.
Claire recognized the symbol on its circuit board.
Three black dots.
Again.
Grant stared at it.
“You said that symbol was familiar.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Claire finally told him.
“St. Agnes Pediatric Center.”
Grant waited.
“What happened there?”
“Two years ago, a child was admitted with unexplained neurological symptoms.”
“Was that child wearing a sensor?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I removed one.”
Grant stared.
“You removed it?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“The child recovered.”
“And?”
“And the child's family disappeared.”
Grant's face hardened.
“What do you mean disappeared?”
“They moved.”
“Where?”
“No one knew.”
“Who was the doctor?”
Claire looked down.
“Dr. Adrian Vale.”
Grant's eyes changed.
He knew the name.
Vale had been one of the doctors who consulted on Lily's mother's cancer treatment.
“You knew my wife.”
“No.”
Claire hesitated.
“I knew of her.”
Grant stepped closer.
“Why?”
“Because your wife asked for my help.”
Silence.
Grant stopped breathing.
“What?”
“Three years ago.”
“When?”
“Two weeks before she died.”
Grant stared at her.
“What did she ask?”
Claire swallowed.
“She said someone was following Lily.”
His face went pale.
“You're saying my wife knew?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“She tried.”
“When?”
“I don't know.”
Grant's voice turned dangerous.
“Claire.”
She flinched.
“I wasn't the nurse assigned to her.”
“Then how?”
“Your wife found me through a colleague.”
“What did she tell you?”
“That she believed someone had gained access to her medical records.”
Grant's hands curled into fists.
“Who?”
“She didn't know.”
“Why didn't you come to me?”
Claire's eyes filled.
“Because she specifically asked me not to.”
“Why?”
“She thought you were being watched too.”
Grant stared.
His entire world shifted.
His wife had been afraid.
And he had never known.
Claire continued.
“She gave me a sealed envelope.”
“Where is it?”
“I kept it.”
“Why?”
“Because I promised.”
She opened her purse.
Removed an old envelope.
Grant stared at the handwriting.
It was his wife's.
His hands shook.
He opened it.
Inside was one page.
Grant,
If you ever read this, something happened to me before I could explain.
Do not trust anyone who tells you Lily is safe simply because the tests are normal.
Normal tests can hide abnormal intentions.
Grant stopped breathing.
The letter continued.
If someone ever tells you Lily has an unexplained problem with her right ear, look for the three-dot mark.
Grant looked at Claire.
“What the hell?”
“I didn't know Lily had the symptom until tonight.”
“But she knew.”
“Yes.”
The final sentence was written in shaky ink.
The person watching us believes they are protecting something that belongs to them.
Grant lowered the paper.
“Belongs to them?”
Claire nodded.
“There was nothing else.”
Grant read the letter again.
Then again.
He looked toward the window.
“Who knew about this letter?”
“No one.”
“Who knew you had it?”
“No one.”
“Then whoever planted that sensor may have been trying to force you to open it.”
Claire's pulse quickened.
“Why?”
Grant looked at her.
“Because they know you helped my wife.”
Before she could answer, the mansion alarm went off.
Security shouted through the hallway.
Grant grabbed Claire's hand.
“Down.”
A window shattered.
Lily screamed from upstairs.
Grant ran.
Claire followed.
A man in black had entered the second-floor hall.
He reached toward Lily's room.
Grant tackled him.
The intruder escaped through the window.
Security surrounded the house.
Grant pulled Lily into his arms.
She clung to him.
Claire looked toward the broken window.
On the floor was a small object.
A blue plastic keycard.
Claire picked it up.
Three dots.
Grant stared.
“This isn't random.”
“No.”
“Someone is sending us clues.”
Claire looked at him.
“Or warnings.”
Grant's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Nobody spoke.
Then a woman's voice whispered:
“You should have left the past buried.”
The line disconnected.
Grant looked at Claire.
She saw something in his eyes.
Fear.
Real fear.
“Whose voice was that?”
May you like
He whispered,
“My wife's.”
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