Chapter 2 - THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MONEYFrancesca arrived twenty minutes later.
She took one look at the box and stopped speaking.
Helen had known Francesca long enough to recognize fear when she saw it.
“What is it?” Helen whispered.
Francesca didn't answer immediately.
She studied the ledger.
“These accounts…”
“What?”
“They're not ordinary accounts.”
Helen swallowed.
“Richard's?”
“Some of them.”
Francesca looked toward the windows.
“Some belong to people who don't forgive debts.”
The police arrived soon afterward.
Detective Miller photographed everything.
The card.
The ribbon.
The watch.
The ledger.
But his expression remained grim.
“Mrs. Mendoza, we'll run fingerprints. We'll check surveillance footage.”
“And?”
“And if these people know enough to send you this, they probably know how to avoid cameras.”
Helen's stomach tightened.
“How did they know the exact amount of my settlement?”
Miller didn't answer.
Francesca did.
“Someone has been watching.”
That night, Helen pushed a dresser against the front door.
She checked the locks twice.
Then three times.
Sarah stood in the hallway, watching her.
“Mom?”
Helen turned.
“Yeah?”
“Are we safe?”
The question broke something inside her.
Helen forced a smile.
“Yes.”
Sarah stared at her.
“You're lying.”
Helen's eyes filled with tears.
She walked over and hugged her daughter.
“I promise you,” she whispered, “whatever happens, I will never let them take you from me.”
At 3:07 a.m., the phone rang.
Helen woke instantly.
She answered.
Silence.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
Then—
A soft click.
The line went dead.
The next morning, Helen found all four tires of her car slashed.
That afternoon, black roses appeared on her windshield.
And two days later, someone left a photograph beneath her apartment door.
It showed Sarah leaving school.
A red circle had been drawn around her.
Helen stared at the photograph until her hands began to shake.
They weren't threatening her anymore.
May you like
They were threatening her daughter.
And that changed everything.
Related Stories
