Chapter 11 - The House Across the Street
Police moved Emily and Ellie that night.
Not to another relative’s house.
Not to a hotel anyone could guess.
To a confidential family shelter with private rooms, controlled entry, and staff who knew exactly how fear can change the way a person hears every footstep.
Emily hated leaving Sarah.
Sarah hated letting them go.
But Pierce was clear.
“Whoever sent those photos wants you predictable. We make you unpredictable.”
At the shelter, Ellie stared at the small room.
Two beds.
A desk.
A lamp.
A window that did not face the parking lot.
“Are we hiding?” she asked.
Emily sat beside her.
“We’re staying somewhere safe while adults do their jobs.”
Ellie looked down.
“I did an adult job.”
Emily felt the sentence like a blade.
“You shouldn’t have had to.”
“But I did.”
Emily nodded.
“Yes.”
Ellie leaned against her.
For the first time in months, they fell asleep before midnight.
Across town, Sarah stayed awake.
At 1:08 a.m., she saw movement through her living room blinds.
A car sat across the street with its lights off.
She called Pierce.
“Do not go outside,” he said.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
The car remained for eleven minutes.
Then drove away.
A patrol officer found it three blocks later.
Abandoned.
Stolen plates.
Inside the trunk was a folder.
On the folder: EMILY HARPER.
Pierce called Sarah at 3:20 a.m.
“We found documents.”
“What kind?”
“Copies of contracts, invoices, loan applications.”
“In Emily’s name?”
“Yes.”
Sarah gripped the phone.
“Is she in trouble?”
“She may be a victim of identity fraud. But there’s more.”
“What?”
“One document is a life insurance policy.”
Sarah stopped breathing.
“How much?”
“Seven hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
“Who is the beneficiary?”
Pierce did not answer immediately.
Sarah already knew.
“Grant?”
“No,” Pierce said.
Sarah’s skin prickled.
“Then who?”
May you like
Pierce looked at the name again before answering.
“Linda Harper.”
