Chapter 9 - The Old PhoneWe returned to the house the next morning.
Lila stayed near the door.
Noah waited in the car with the doors locked.
I entered Daniel's office.
The room smelled like cedar and expensive cologne.
I opened the bottom drawer.
Nothing.
I searched again.
Then I noticed the wooden panel beneath the drawer.
It moved.
Behind it was a small black box.
Inside—
The old phone.
My hands shook as I turned it on.
The screen lit up.
No password.
Hundreds of messages.
Vanessa.
Daniel.
Unknown numbers.
My heart pounded as I opened the conversation.
The first message was dated six months earlier.
Daniel: We need to make sure Sarah looks unstable.
I stopped breathing.
Another.
Daniel: Once the policy is active, everything changes.
Another.
Vanessa: And what happens to her?
Daniel's answer:
Daniel: She won't be around to fight us.
I covered my mouth.
Lila stepped closer.
"What?"
I turned the phone toward her.
She read the screen.
Her face went white.
Then another message appeared.
A message sent only three days before the accident.
Daniel: Tuesday. Doctor's office. Make it look accidental.
We had the proof.
But before we could celebrate—
May you like
The front door slammed.
Someone was home.
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