Chapter 5 - The Truth Hidden Inside North Form
The front door moved again.
Not opened.
Moved.
Someone was on the other side.
Someone who had already been inside my house.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
I looked at Rachel.
She looked at me.
And I knew from her expression that she was not surprised.
That scared me more than anything.
“Rachel,” I whispered.
“Did you know?”
She didn’t answer immediately.
Her silence was an answer.
“Did you know someone was inside?”
“No.”
“But you weren’t surprised.”
She looked toward the hallway.
“I was afraid.”
The baby monitor beside the couch suddenly crackled.
A small sound.
A movement.
My heart stopped.
Maisie was in her room.
Alone.
I ran.
Rachel followed.
The nursery door was slightly open.
I knew I had closed it.
I always closed it.
I pushed it open.
Maisie was still in her crib.
Sleeping.
Safe.
But something was different.
The small stuffed rabbit beside her had been moved.
It was sitting on the other side of the crib.
Facing the door.
I stood there, frozen.
Because it wasn’t the rabbit that scared me.
It was the envelope underneath it.
A white envelope.
With my name written on it.
MALLORY.
My hands became cold.
Rachel stepped closer.
“Don’t touch it.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because if someone wanted you to find it, they wanted you to react.”
I stared at the envelope.
Everything about this felt wrong.
The camera.
The documents.
The message.
Someone was always one step ahead.
I picked up the envelope anyway.
Because I was tired of being afraid of information.
I opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
A picture of me.
Not a family picture.
Not something from our wedding.
A picture taken inside our house.
I was sitting on the couch.
Seven months pregnant.
My hands were resting on my stomach.
I remembered that day.
I had been crying.
Derek had taken the picture.
He told me I looked beautiful.
I turned the photo over.
There was writing on the back.
Three words.
SHE TRUSTED HIM.
My breathing changed.
Rachel looked at the picture.
Then she looked away.
“You know this photo?”
“Yes.”
“Derek took it?”
I nodded.
Rachel closed her eyes.
“That means he wasn’t just using information.”
“What does that mean?”
“He was collecting moments.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
Before she could answer, my phone buzzed.
Another unknown number.
This time, a video.
I almost didn’t open it.
Almost.
But I pressed play.
The screen showed a dark room.
A man sitting in front of a camera.
I didn’t recognize him.
He looked nervous.
Like he was afraid someone would find out he was recording.
Then he spoke.
“If you’re watching this, Derek doesn’t know I sent it.”
Rachel suddenly stepped closer.
Her face changed.
“Wait.”
The man continued.
“My name is Ethan Brooks.”
My body went still.
The name.
The registered agent.
Sienna’s brother.
The man connected to North Form.
“I know what Derek told you about me,” Ethan said.
“He probably said I was helping with business.”
I stared at the screen.
“But that isn’t the truth.”
Rachel whispered:
“Oh my God.”
The video continued.
“Derek and Sienna created North Form because they needed someone to make the company look legitimate.”
Ethan looked down.
“I was supposed to sign documents. Create accounts. Handle legal paperwork.”
He paused.
“But I found something.”
The video froze for a second.
Then continued.
“Derek wasn’t planning a fitness company.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“He was planning an exit.”
I looked at Rachel.
“Exit from what?”
Ethan’s voice became quieter.
“From his marriage.”
The room felt smaller.
“He created North Form as a way to move money, create a new identity, and prepare a future without Mallory.”
I felt sick.
I knew that part.
But hearing someone else say it made it real.
Then Ethan said something I wasn’t expecting.
“But that wasn’t the worst part.”
A pause.
“He didn’t create North Form because he wanted to leave Mallory.”
The screen flickered.
“He created North Form because someone convinced him Mallory was a risk.”
Rachel stepped back.
“What?”
Ethan continued.
“There is another person involved.”
I leaned closer.
“Who?”
The video cut off.
Just like that.
No ending.
No explanation.
Only black screen.
I immediately tried calling the number.
Disconnected.
Rachel looked terrified.
“Ethan knows too much.”
I looked at her.
“Who convinced Derek?”
She didn’t answer.
“Rachel.”
She swallowed.
“There was someone else.”
“Who?”
She looked toward the window.
“Someone above Derek.”
I felt a chill.
“Who?”
Rachel slowly sat down.
“When I worked with North Form, I thought Derek was the person controlling everything.”
“But?”
“But he wasn’t.”
I waited.
“He was following instructions.”
I stared.
“From who?”
Rachel didn’t speak.
That silence was unbearable.
“Rachel.”
Finally, she whispered:
“Someone who has been watching you for months.”
I looked at the camera outside.
The one Derek installed.
The one I never knew about.
My phone buzzed again.
A new message.
This time from Derek.
I opened it.
The message was simple.
Stop listening to Rachel. She’s not telling you why she was really removed from North Form.
I looked at Rachel.
She saw my expression.
“What did he say?”
I didn’t answer.
Because suddenly I wasn’t sure.
Not about Derek.
Not about Rachel.
Not about anyone.
Everyone seemed to have a piece of the truth.
And everyone seemed to be hiding something.
I turned toward Rachel.
“Tell me everything.”
She looked at Maisie sleeping peacefully.
Then she said:
“I need to show you something.”
“What?”
She reached into her bag.
Pulled out a small black folder.
“I never gave this to Derek.”
She placed it on the table.
“What is it?”
“The original North Form research.”
I opened it.
The first page was filled with names.
Women.
Hundreds of them.
I scanned the list.
Then I stopped.
Because one name was highlighted.
Mine.
Mallory Reed.
But beneath my name was another line.
A note.
Written by someone else.
Not Derek.
Not Sienna.
Someone I didn’t recognize.
Subject approved. Begin emotional isolation process after delivery.
I felt my hands shake.
“Subject?”
Rachel nodded slowly.
“That’s why I came.”
I looked up.
“What are you saying?”
She took a breath.
“I don’t think Derek was the person who started this.”
The room went silent.
Then my phone lit up.
A new photo.
Sent from an unknown number.
A picture taken seconds ago.
Rachel and me sitting at my kitchen table.
Taken from inside my house.
May you like
Under the photo was one sentence.
You should ask Rachel why she was the first person who signed your name.
