Chương 8
Daniel unfolded it completely.
There was a handwritten note on the back.
Three words.
Stop asking why.
He stared at the sentence.
Not stop investigating.
Not leave it alone.
Stop asking why.
The difference bothered him.
Because whoever wrote it knew exactly what question was driving him.
Daniel placed the paper down and immediately grabbed his phone.
His first instinct was to call the police.
His second instinct was to think about how that would look.
A man already accused of mishandling records claiming someone entered his apartment.
Without proof.
Without witnesses.
Without anything except a note.
He hated that he was thinking strategically.
He hated even more that it was necessary.
He took pictures.
The door.
The envelope.
The note.
Then he checked the lock.
There was no damage.
Which meant either he had forgotten to lock it.
Or someone had a key.
That possibility made him stop.
Only a few people had ever had access.
His sister.
His landlord, during repairs.
And Maya.
The thought appeared before he could stop it.
He immediately rejected it.
Not because he knew she was innocent.
Because he did not know anything anymore.
That was the part that frightened him.
He sat at the kitchen table until midnight.
The groceries remained untouched.
The milk sat on the counter warming slowly.
At twelve thirty, his phone rang.
Maya.
He watched it vibrate.
He almost let it stop.
Then he answered.
"Did you send someone to my apartment?"
Silence.
Not confusion.
Not anger.
Silence.
"Maya."
"No."
Her voice was quiet.
"Why would you ask me that?"
"Because someone opened the envelope you gave me."
Another pause.
"Are you home?"
"Yes."
"Did they take anything?"
"No."
"Daniel, listen to me."
Something in her tone changed.
"Do not touch anything else."
"I already did."
"Why?"
"Because I live here."
The frustration in his voice surprised even him.
Maya exhaled.
"I mean don't throw anything away."
"I wasn't planning to."
"Good."
"Why?"
"Because if someone got into your apartment, this is bigger than the board meeting."
Daniel looked at the note on the table.
"How much bigger?"
Maya did not answer immediately.
That was becoming her habit.
Avoiding the sentence before saying it.
Finally, she said, "Rachel wasn't just looking at missing approvals."
"What else?"
"She was looking at who had access to the system."
Daniel leaned back.
"And?"
"And she found unusual activity."
"What kind?"
"Files opened at times when nobody was supposed to be working."
"By who?"
"I don't know."
"You're saying that a lot."
"I know."
The honesty in her voice made him pause.
"What happened to Rachel?"
Maya was quiet.
Then:
"I don't know."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"You really don't?"
"No."
"Then tell me what you do know."
Maya took a breath.
"I know she was scared."
"When?"
"The last time I saw her."
"When was that?"
"The night before she left."
Daniel looked toward the dark window.
"What did she say?"
Maya's voice softened.
"She said she had made a mistake."
"What mistake?"
"She said she trusted the wrong person."
The apartment felt colder.
"Did she say who?"
"No."
"Did she say me?"
"No."
"Did she say you?"
Maya did not respond.
Daniel looked at the phone.
The silence was enough.
"Maya."
"I don't know."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
Her voice cracked slightly.
"I don't know if Rachel was warning me or accusing me."
Daniel sat quietly.
For the first time, he heard something underneath Maya's careful words.
Fear.
Not professional concern.
Not stress.
Fear.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"My house."
"Are you alone?"
Another pause.
"Yes."
He almost asked if she was sure.
He stopped himself.
They were both becoming people who checked every answer for what might be hidden underneath.
The next morning, Daniel woke up on the couch.
He did not remember falling asleep.
The television was still off.
The note from the night before was on the coffee table.
For a moment, before memory returned, everything felt normal.
Then his phone lit up.
Three missed calls.
Two messages.
The first was from Marcus.
Call me.
The second was from an unknown number.
You should have listened.
Daniel sat up.
His first feeling was not fear.
It was exhaustion.
He was tired of being surprised.
He called Marcus.
Marcus answered immediately.
"Where are you?"
"Home."
"Are you alone?"
Daniel almost laughed.
"Apparently that's the question everyone asks now."
"Daniel."
The seriousness in Marcus's voice erased the humor.
"What happened?"
"Someone contacted me."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"What did they say?"
Daniel hesitated.
"That I should have listened."
Marcus was quiet.
Then he said, "I need to tell you something."
Daniel stood.
"What?"
"I wasn't honest with you yesterday."
The sentence immediately changed the room.
"What does that mean?"
"It means when you asked if I saw anything unusual, I lied."
Daniel gripped the phone.
"What did you see?"
Marcus took a breath.
"I saw someone copying files."
"Who?"
"I couldn't see their face."
"Marcus."
"I know."
His voice tightened.
"I know what that sounds like."
"Where?"
"The office."
"When?"
"The night before the video."
Daniel felt the pieces shifting.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Another silence.
This one sounded ashamed.
"Because I was afraid."
"Of what?"
"Of being wrong."
Daniel looked around his apartment.
The same walls.
The same furniture.
The same place he had lived in for four years.
It no longer felt completely his.
"Marcus."
"Yeah."
"Why tell me now?"
Marcus did not answer right away.
Then:
"Because whoever did this knows more than we thought."
Daniel waited.
"They sent me something."
"What?"
"A picture."
"What picture?"
Marcus lowered his voice.
"Your office."
Daniel frowned.
"What about it?"
"The picture was taken last night."
Daniel felt the cold return.
"After everyone left?"
"Yeah."
"Who took it?"
"I don't know."
Marcus swallowed.
"But Daniel."
"What?"
"There was someone standing outside your office door."
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
"Who?"
Marcus hesitated.
Then he said:
"You."
May you like
Daniel did not speak.
For a moment, the apartment seemed to lose all sound except the faint hum of the refrigerator.
