Chapter 13 - The Digital Trap
Julian’s fingers danced across the tablet screen with practiced speed, bringing up a live security feed streamed from a hidden camera mounted across the street from the burning suburban house.
Through the grainy, amber-tinted lens, Chloe watched firefighters battle thick plumes of toxic black smoke billowing from the charred windows of the master bedroom. Standing behind the police tape on the front lawn, Martha was no longer faking a faint; she was screaming hysterically into a cell phone, her blonde updo completely undone, her face contorted in rage. Beside her, Mark was glaring directly into a hidden drone camera hovering above the street, as if he knew exactly who was watching.
"They aren't just angry about the money, Julian," Chloe whispered, pointing a trembling finger at the screen. "Look at Mark’s jacket pocket. He’s holding the original property deed to my father’s research facility."
Julian’s calm demeanor vanished instantly. His green eyes widened as he zoomed in on the live feed. "That facility was condemned twenty years ago after the explosion. Why would Mark risk going back inside for a worthless piece of land?"
"It’s not worthless," Chloe said, a sudden clarity cutting through her exhaustion. "When I was cleaning the study last week, I found the architectural blueprints hidden behind the electrical panel. The facility wasn't destroyed by an accident, Julian. It was demolished to bury the patents my father filed the day before he disappeared."
Before Julian could answer, the tablet screen flickered violently, cutting from the live feed to a blank, black display. A single line of text appeared in glowing green letters across the glass: WE HAVE THE OTHERS. COME ALONE.
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Beneath the text was a GPS coordinate pointing directly to the abandoned industrial docks at the edge of the city.
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