Chapter 2: The Call From Nowhere
Part 2 ⬇️
Detective Ramirez pulled me aside while her partner kept Vanessa in the living room.
"Mr.
Mercer." Her voice was low.
"The other footage.
The second house.
We've seen this pattern before."
"What pattern?"
She didn't answer that directly.
"Does your wife have a sister?
A close friend?
Anyone she introduced you to early in the relationship?"
I thought about it.
"She introduced me to a woman named Claire.
Said she was an old college friend."
Ramirez wrote something down without looking up.
"Did Claire ever spend time alone with Emma?"
My stomach dropped.
Before I could answer, Vanessa appeared in the doorway.
"Daniel, please.
You're making a mistake."
"Ma'am, step back inside." Ramirez didn't raise her voice.
Vanessa's eyes moved to me.
Then to Emma sitting on the stairs still holding Bunny.
Something crossed her face.
Not guilt.
Not fear.
Calculation.
"Emma, sweetheart—"
"Don't talk to her." The words came out of me before I could stop them.
Emma pressed herself against the wall.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I answered.
Silence.
Then a woman's voice, barely above a whisper.
"Daniel.
Don't let them take the memory card.
There's something on it they won't tell you about."
The line went d*ad.
I looked at Ramirez.
She was already watching me.
"Who was that?" she asked.
I had no answer.
But whoever it was — she knew my name.
She knew about the card.
And she was afraid.
---
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What Daniel found on that memory card exposed something far bigger than one crjminal.
Click the link below to read the full story — and find out who made that call.
