CHAPTER 7: THE RABBIT HOLE
I moved into the house in Ashland.
It felt strange. Living in a place Daniel had built for a life that didn't include me.
But I had to.
Because the house held secrets.
I found them in the walls. In the floors. In the attic.
A laptop hidden behind a loose board.
A journal filled with notes.
A map with locations circled in red.
Daniel had been planning this for years.
I sat down with the laptop and started going through the files.
Financial records.
Communications with people I'd never met.
A schedule of "deliveries."
Emma's name appeared multiple times.
Each time, my heart stopped.
Delivery #1: London.
Delivery #2: Dubai.
Delivery #3: Unknown.
They were planning to move her.
Across borders. Across continents.
I couldn't let that happen.
I called Agent Webb.
"I found something," I said.
"What kind of something?"
"A plan. A detailed plan. They're going to move Emma out of the country."
"How soon?"
"Tomorrow. I think."
"I'll get a team together. Stay where you are."
"I'm not staying. I'm going to find them."
"Mrs. Harper—"
"I didn't come this far to let them disappear. I'm not sitting on the sidelines."
The phone was silent for a moment.
Then Agent Webb said something I wasn't expecting.
"I'll pick you up in twenty minutes."
"Twenty minutes?"
"If you're going to do this, you're going to do it right. I'll bring a vest. And a gun."
I stared at the phone.
May you like
"A gun?"
"Like I said. You're going to do this right."
