Chapter 1 - The Stranger's Secret

I stood completely frozen as the billionaire’s words echoed in the quiet hallway.

Arthur Whitmore had just recited our exact apartment number perfectly into his cell phone.

I grabbed my eight-year-old sister’s hand and slowly took a step backward toward the heavy oak doors.

We had never told this man our last name, let alone the address of our rundown building across the city.

Arthur hung up the phone and slipped it into the pocket of his expensive tailored suit.

His kind, grandfatherly smile had vanished completely, replaced by a cold and calculating stare.

He noticed me edging toward the exit and pressed a small silver button on the wall.

A loud mechanical click echoed through the foyer as the deadbolts automatically locked us inside.

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.

I asked him to let us go home, telling him that our sister was waiting for us.

Arthur calmly leaned on his cane and told me that nobody was going anywhere until his associates arrived.

He turned his back on us and slowly walked into his massive private study, leaving the door slightly ajar.

I knew we had to get out of this mansion before whoever he had called showed up.

I whispered to Annie to stay perfectly quiet as we crept toward the heavy glass windows.

Every single window was reinforced with steel security bars that made escape impossible.

Desperation pushed me to tiptoe toward the slightly open door of Arthur’s study.

I thought I might be able to sneak in and grab his cell phone from his desk to call the police.

I peered through the crack in the door and saw Arthur staring out the window with his back to the room.

My eyes darted to his massive mahogany desk, searching for the phone.

Instead, I saw a thick manila folder sitting wide open under the glow of a desk lamp.

The word "TARGETS" was stamped across the top in bold red ink.

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Spread across the desk were dozens of surveillance photographs of me, Annie, and Grace.

The final photograph was a close-up shot of Grace sleeping in her bed, taken from inside our locked apartment just hours ago.