Chapter 3 - The Name Hidden Inside the Shipment
The door opened behind me.
"Emily?"
I turned around.
Todd stood there.
His face was pale.
His eyes moved from me to Arthur Rossi.
Then to the folder on the desk.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The silence was so heavy that I could hear the rain hitting the windows.
"What are you doing here?"
Todd's voice wasn't angry.
It was afraid.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Fear.
I stared at him.
"How did you know where I was?"
He didn't answer.
And that was answer enough.
Arthur noticed too.
His expression changed slightly.
A man like Arthur Rossi didn't miss details.
Not a glance.
Not a hesitation.
Not a lie.
"You know him."
It wasn't a question.
I looked at Arthur.
Then back at Todd.
"I was about to ask him the same thing."
Todd swallowed.
"Emily, you need to leave."
The words should have sounded protective.
They didn't.
They sounded desperate.
I stepped away from the folder.
"Why?"
"Because you don't understand what's happening."
I almost laughed.
"That's interesting."
My voice became sharper.
"Because five minutes ago, I thought my biggest problem was finding out my boyfriend was cheating on me."
Todd looked down.
The movement was small.
But I saw it.
Guilt.
Not about Brittany.
Something else.
"Boyfriend?"
Arthur repeated quietly.
Todd looked at him.
"You're Arthur Rossi."
Arthur didn't move.
"And you're Todd Miller."
Todd's face changed.
Only for a second.
But it happened.
Arthur knew him.
That realization made my stomach twist.
"You know each other."
Neither answered.
I looked between them.
"Someone want to explain why the two men in this room seem to know more about my life than I do?"
Todd walked closer.
"Emily, listen to me."
"No."
My voice surprised even me.
"No more."
He stopped.
For two years, I had waited for him to explain things.
Why he disappeared.
Why he lied.
Why I always felt like I was asking for too much.
Now he was standing in front of me.
And for the first time, I wasn't desperate for his attention.
I was angry.
"You don't get to show up after ignoring me all night and suddenly act like you're saving me."
"That's not what this is."
"Then what is it?"
Todd looked at Arthur.
And Arthur looked back.
A silent conversation passed between them.
I hated that.
I hated being the only person in the room who didn't understand.
"Tell her."
Arthur's voice was calm.
Todd's face hardened.
"Not here."
"Then where?"
Arthur took a step forward.
"She deserves the truth."
Todd shook his head.
"You don't know what you're doing."
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
"I know exactly what I'm doing."
The tension between them was immediate.
This wasn't two strangers arguing.
This was history.
Old history.
Dangerous history.
I picked up the envelope from the desk.
Both men reacted.
That was enough.
I looked down at the words again.
Open when he finds you.
My hands felt cold.
"He found me."
Nobody answered.
I looked at Todd.
"Who wrote this?"
His silence lasted too long.
"Who wrote it?"
Todd looked away.
That hurt more than I expected.
Because Todd always had an answer.
A convenient one.
A perfect excuse.
But now?
Nothing.
Arthur reached for the folder.
"Give it to me."
I held it tighter.
"No."
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
"No?"
"No."
I looked at him.
"Everyone keeps telling me what to do."
I glanced at Todd.
"Everyone keeps deciding what I can handle."
Then back to Arthur.
"I'm done with that."
For the first time, Arthur looked almost surprised.
Not because I refused.
Because I think he wasn't used to anyone refusing him.
"Open it."
Todd said quietly.
I turned toward him.
"You want me to?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
Arthur looked at him sharply.
"Are you sure?"
Todd didn't look away.
"She deserves to know."
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
No letter.
No explanation.
Just one sentence.
My breath caught.
Because I recognized the handwriting.
It was mine.
But I had never written it.
Emily,
If you are reading this, it means they found you.
The room became silent.
I continued reading.
Do not trust the man who says he is protecting you.
My eyes moved to Arthur.
Then back to the paper.
But do not run from him either.
I stopped.
The next line was worse.
The person you should fear is the one who already knows your routine.
My fingers trembled.
Because someone did know my routine.
Someone knew where I worked.
Where I lived.
When I usually came home.
Todd.
I slowly looked at him.
His face changed.
"Emily..."
"No."
The word came out quietly.
Almost like a whisper.
"You knew."
"I was trying to protect you."
"From what?"
He didn't answer.
Arthur stepped closer.
"How long have you known about the shipment?"
Todd looked at him.
"Long enough."
My heart dropped.
"You knew about this?"
Todd looked at me.
"I didn't know your name was connected."
"But you knew something."
Silence.
That was all I needed.
I placed the paper down.
"Who are you?"
The question wasn't for Arthur.
It was for Todd.
The man who had slept beside me.
The man who knew how I took my coffee.
The man who knew I hated thunderstorms.
The man who knew every small detail about me.
And somehow had hidden the biggest one.
Todd looked exhausted.
"I wasn't supposed to get close to you."
The sentence landed harder than anything else.
I felt like the floor moved beneath me.
"What?"
Arthur's expression became dangerous.
"What did you just say?"
Todd closed his eyes.
"I was assigned to watch her."
The room went completely still.
My chest tightened.
"Assigned?"
I laughed once.
A broken sound.
"Like I'm a file?"
"Emily..."
"No."
I stepped back.
"Don't say my name like you care."
His face fell.
And for a moment, I almost saw the man I thought I loved.
Almost.
Then I remembered.
The lies.
The missing pieces.
The secrets.
"Who assigned you?"
Todd looked toward Arthur.
Arthur already knew.
But he didn't say anything.
That terrified me more.
"Todd."
My voice shook.
"Who?"
Todd whispered:
"Your father."
I stared at him.
The world seemed to stop.
"My father is dead."
Todd looked at me with an expression I had never seen before.
Pity.
"No, Emily."
The words barely came out.
"Your father isn't dead."
I couldn't breathe.
I wanted to laugh.
I wanted to tell him he was insane.
My father had died when I was twelve.
A car accident.
A funeral.
A closed casket.
A life that ended before I became an adult.
"You don't know what you're saying."
"I do."
"No."
"Emily."
Todd stepped forward.
"I was there when he disappeared."
I looked at Arthur.
He wasn't surprised.
That was the worst part.
He knew.
"You knew."
Arthur didn't deny it.
"I suspected."
"SUSPECTED?"
My voice broke.
"You knew my father was alive and nobody told me?"
Arthur's jaw tightened.
"Because if he knew you were looking for him, you'd be in more danger."
The words hung there.
Looking for him.
I hadn't been looking.
I had spent years believing there was nothing left to find.
My phone buzzed.
Everyone looked at it.
Unknown number.
One new message.
I opened it.
My blood turned cold.
The message contained a photo.
A recent photo.
Of me.
Walking out of my apartment three days earlier.
Below it were four words.
I know you're awake.
Arthur saw my face.
"What is it?"
I couldn't answer.
Because another message appeared.
This time with a name.
A name I hadn't heard in fifteen years.
My father's name.
And beneath it:
"Ask Arthur Rossi what he did to your family."
I looked up.
Arthur had gone completely still.
Then the mansion lights suddenly went out.
And from the darkness outside the office door, someone whispered:
May you like
"Emily Carter."
A second later, the locked door handle began to turn.
