Chapter 3 - The Secret Hidden Inside Emma BrooksEmma noticed the changes immediately.
Vincent became quieter.
The guards doubled.
Marcus Vale stopped smiling around her.
Aaron began checking doors personally.
Even the twins seemed to sense something.
One evening, Emma found Noah hiding inside the closet.
“What are you doing?”
“I heard Daddy arguing.”
“With whom?”
Noah shook his head.
Emma crouched.
“Hey.”
He looked up.
“Is Daddy going to leave us?”
Her heart broke.
“No.”
“He says he's going away.”
Emma understood.
Vincent had likely begun hunting the traitor.
She hugged Noah.
“He always comes back.”
“Promise?”
Emma smiled.
“I promise.”
She didn't know that Vincent was standing on the other side of the door.
He had heard every word.
Later that night, he confronted Marcus.
“You accessed the east camera.”
Marcus stared at him.
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Security sweep.”
“Without authorization?”
Marcus sighed.
“You're suspicious of me.”
“I’m suspicious of everyone.”
“You weren't before Emma.”
Vincent froze.
Marcus continued.
“She changed you.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“You've stopped thinking strategically.”
Vincent stepped closer.
“Careful.”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Claire would hate what you're becoming.”
Vincent grabbed him by the collar.
“Don't you ever use her name to manipulate me.”
Marcus did not fight back.
Instead, he whispered.
“You still haven't figured out who betrayed her.”
Vincent released him.
“Neither have you.”
Marcus smiled.
“Maybe I have.”
Before Vincent could answer, an alarm sounded.
The twins' bedroom.
Vincent ran.
He found Lily standing beside the window.
A small black envelope lay on the floor.
Emma was already there.
She had heard the alarm first.
Vincent picked it up.
Inside was a photograph.
Claire Calder.
Holding the twins.
On the back, three words had been written.
SHE KNEW TOO MUCH.
Vincent's expression changed.
Emma saw it.
“What does it mean?”
“It means you shouldn't be here.”
“You hired me.”
“That was a mistake.”
Her eyes widened.
“Because I saved your children?”
“Because everyone around me gets hurt.”
Emma stared at him.
“You don't get to decide whether I leave.”
His eyes hardened.
“I do.”
“No.”
The room fell silent.
Lily whispered, “Emma?”
Emma looked at the children.
Then at Vincent.
“You don't get to punish everyone because you're terrified.”
His face went still.
“Get out.”
Emma nodded slowly.
“Fine.”
She turned toward the twins.
“I'll pack tomorrow.”
Lily started crying.
Vincent looked at his children.
Then at Emma.
He knew he had gone too far.
But he did not know how to take back his words.
That night, Emma packed.
Not much.
Three sweaters.
Two pairs of jeans.
A small perfume bottle.
A photograph of her mother.
And a worn envelope containing a newspaper clipping.
Vincent discovered it accidentally when he entered her room.
He saw the headline.
PHILADELPHIA WOMAN KILLED IN HIT-AND-RUN.
Below it was Emma's mother's name.
Sarah Brooks.
He stared.
“When did she die?”
Emma turned.
“Twelve years ago.”
“How?”
“Hit-and-run.”
Vincent looked at the photograph.
There was something familiar about the street.
The date.
The police department.
He had seen the file before.
Years ago.
The same year Claire Calder had been threatened.
He looked back at Emma.
“Where was your mother going?”
“Home.”
“From where?”
Emma hesitated.
“A courthouse.”
Vincent's blood went cold.
“What courthouse?”
“Philadelphia County.”
“Why?”
Emma's eyes narrowed.
“She testified in a corruption case.”
“Against who?”
“I don't know.”
Vincent stared at her.
Emma did not know.
But suddenly he did.
Claire had been investigating the same network.
A political corruption ring.
A laundering operation.
A group Vincent had spent years dismantling from the shadows.
A group led by a man who had never been officially identified.
The man Vincent called Ghost.
Vincent looked at Emma differently.
“You said your mother left no papers.”
“She didn't.”
“Are you sure?”
Emma nodded.
Vincent didn't believe her.
Not anymore.
The next morning, Emma disappeared.
So did the twins.
Vincent nearly destroyed the house.
“Find them!”
Aaron ran toward him.
“They're at the garden.”
Vincent stopped.
He found Emma beneath the old oak tree with Lily and Noah.
She was holding a suitcase.
“I was taking them to say goodbye.”
Vincent exhaled.
The children ran to him.
“We don't want Emma to leave.”
He looked at Emma.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Vincent said, “Stay.”
Her eyes softened.
“That sounded almost human.”
His mouth twitched.
“Please.”
She smiled.
“Better.”
From that day forward, something changed.
Not dramatically.
Quietly.
Vincent began asking her opinion.
Emma began trusting his silence.
Their conversations lasted longer.
Their shoulders brushed in hallways.
Their eyes lingered.
One evening, Emma fell asleep on the sofa while reading to the twins.
Vincent carried Lily upstairs.
Aaron carried Noah.
When Vincent returned, Emma was still asleep.
He stood beside her.
Her hair had fallen across her cheek.
He reached down.
Then stopped.
His hand remained suspended in the air.
Emma opened her eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“You were about to touch my face.”
“No.”
“You were.”
“I wasn't.”
She smiled sleepily.
“You're a terrible liar.”
Vincent sat beside her.
“Emma.”
“Hmm?”
“If I asked you to leave the house for good, would you?”
She looked at him.
“Would you really want me to?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Emma's breath caught.
Neither moved.
Then the alarm sounded.
Vincent stood instantly.
“Stay here.”
He ran toward the security room.
Emma's pulse raced.
Because she knew that sound.
The same warning that had preceded the shooting.
May you like
And this time, the target wasn't the twins.
It was her.
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