Chapter 3 - The Envelope Naomi Never Wanted Me To Open
A woman screamed from the dark hallway: "Roman, don't trust her!"
I turned toward the voice and found Naomi’s old security badge lying beside the bedroom door.
A number was scratched into the back: "0427."
I finally understood someone had been inside my house before I arrived.
The lights returned three seconds later.
Three seconds.
That was all it took for someone to disappear.
I stood in the bedroom, staring at the empty hallway.
No footsteps.
No movement.
Nothing.
Only silence.
But I knew what I heard.
Someone had called my name.
Someone who knew exactly what was happening.
Sabrina was still standing near the table.
The envelope remained between us.
She looked calm again.
Too calm.
"Who was that?" I asked.
She didn't answer.
Her eyes moved toward the hallway.
Then back to me.
"I don't know."
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was impossible.
People who were innocent reacted with confusion.
People who were guilty reacted with control.
And Sabrina had too much control.
I walked toward the envelope.
She immediately stepped forward.
"Roman."
I stopped.
"What?"
"Maybe you should listen before you open that."
I looked at her.
"Why?"
She remained quiet.
"Because you're afraid of what's inside?"
Her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
I picked up the envelope.
It was heavier than it looked.
There was no name.
No address.
No explanation.
Only one thing.
A small handwritten symbol in the corner.
A symbol Naomi used whenever she wanted me to know something was private.
My wife’s symbol.
My fingers tightened.
Sabrina noticed.
"Naomi always had secrets."
I looked at her.
"Everyone has secrets."
She smiled.
"Not everyone hides children from their husband."
My eyes narrowed.
"You knew."
Silence.
That was all I needed.
"You knew about the twins."
Sabrina looked away.
"I knew Naomi was pregnant."
The room felt colder.
"And you didn't tell me."
"I tried."
"No."
My voice became sharper.
"You waited."
She looked back at me.
"Roman, you don't understand."
"Then explain."
She took a breath.
For the first time since I met her, she looked unsure.
"Naomi was scared."
"Of what?"
"Of you."
I stared at her.
That answer angered me more than any lie.
"My wife was never afraid of me."
Sabrina shook her head.
"You think you know everything about Naomi."
She stepped closer.
"But you don't know what happened after the doctors told her she was pregnant."
I said nothing.
Because somewhere inside me, I felt the truth coming.
And I hated that part of me believed Sabrina knew something.
She continued.
"Naomi found out the pregnancy was dangerous."
"I know."
"No."
She shook her head.
"You know she was sick. You don't know why."
I looked at the envelope.
Then back at her.
"What are you saying?"
Sabrina lowered her voice.
"Someone changed Naomi's medication."
The words hit harder than I expected.
My body went still.
"What?"
She looked toward the door.
"Someone wanted her weak."
The anger inside me rose.
"Who?"
Sabrina didn't answer.
Instead, she pointed at the envelope.
"Maybe Naomi wrote it down."
I stared at her.
"You want me to believe you now?"
"No."
Her voice was quiet.
"I want you to survive."
Before I could respond, my phone rang.
My security chief.
I answered immediately.
"Tell me."
His voice sounded urgent.
"Sir, we checked the estate cameras."
"And?"
"There was someone inside the house tonight."
I looked around the bedroom.
"Who?"
A pause.
Then:
"We don't know."
My eyes narrowed.
"Find out."
"There is something else."
"What?"
"The person accessed Naomi's old private office."
My heart stopped.
Naomi's office.
Nobody went there.
Not after she died.
"How long ago?"
"Twenty minutes."
Twenty minutes.
Someone had entered my home while I was at the hospital.
Someone knew exactly where to go.
I ended the call.
Sabrina watched me.
"Now you understand."
I ignored her.
I walked toward Naomi’s office.
The door was at the end of the hallway.
The same door Naomi used to close whenever she was working.
The same door I never questioned.
Because I trusted her.
I reached it.
The lock was broken.
Someone had forced it open.
Inside, everything was disturbed.
Drawers were open.
Papers were scattered.
Books were pulled from shelves.
Someone had searched this room.
Not randomly.
Carefully.
I walked inside.
My eyes moved around.
Then I saw something.
A small wooden box under Naomi’s desk.
I had never seen it before.
I picked it up.
There was a note attached.
My hands froze.
Because the handwriting was Naomi’s.
"Roman, if you found this, they already know."
I opened the box.
Inside was a second phone.
An old one.
The screen turned on immediately.
There was only one video file.
The date was from three days before Naomi died.
I pressed play.
The screen showed Naomi.
My Naomi.
Sitting in this same office.
She looked tired.
But alert.
Like she knew time was running out.
"Roman..."
Hearing her voice almost destroyed me.
I reached toward the screen.
"Please listen carefully."
She looked directly into the camera.
"If you are watching this, it means I couldn't tell you myself."
My breathing became heavier.
"Don't trust Sabrina."
I looked behind me.
Sabrina was standing in the doorway.
Her face had lost all color.
The video continued.
"She wasn't the beginning of this."
A pause.
Naomi looked down.
"She was only someone who was manipulated."
I frowned.
Manipulated?
By who?
Then Naomi said something that made my entire body freeze.
"The person you should fear is someone who has been protecting our family for years."
The video stopped.
I stared at the screen.
That was it.
No ending.
No name.
No explanation.
Just enough to destroy everything I believed.
I turned toward Sabrina.
"What does that mean?"
She looked terrified.
"I don't know."
For once, I believed she was telling the truth.
Because her fear looked real.
Then the old phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
One sentence.
My blood ran cold.
"Roman, if you found Naomi's video, it means the person who killed her knows you are watching."
I looked at Sabrina.
She looked at the phone.
Then she whispered:
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
Her face went pale.
"Because only one person knew about that phone."
I stepped closer.
"Who?"
Sabrina slowly looked toward the office door.
Her voice barely came out.
"Naomi's brother."
I froze.
Naomi never had a brother.
At least...
That was what she told me.
Then the office lights flickered.
A shadow appeared behind the glass door.
Someone was standing outside.
I moved toward it.
The handle slowly turned.
May you like
The door opened halfway.
And the person standing there whispered my wife’s name...
