Chapter 1 - The Midnight Intruder
I stared through the peephole as a cold sweat broke out across my forehead.
Victoria Sterling stood in the dim hallway of my cheap apartment building.
She held the torn cardboard box in her manicured hands like a hunting trophy.
I backed away from the wooden door while my hands trembled uncontrollably.
Victoria knocked again with a slow, rhythmic pattern that echoed in the quiet hallway.
"Sarah, I know you are in there," her muffled voice called out.
I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and dialed emergency services.
The 911 operator answered immediately in a crisp, professional tone.
"Please send someone to my apartment, a woman is trying to break in," I whispered desperately.
The operator asked for my address, and I quickly recited it.
"Ma'am, we already have two officers dispatched to that exact location," the operator replied.
I felt a massive wave of relief wash over my exhausted body.
"Thank God, how far away are they?" I asked.
"They arrived three minutes ago," the operator stated calmly.
My blood ran completely cold as I crept back toward the peephole.
I looked through the glass lens and saw two uniformed police officers standing right behind Victoria.
Harrison's warning in the video suddenly made terrifying sense.
She owned the people who were supposed to protect us.
I shoved the USB drive deep into the pocket of my robe.
I ran into Chloe's bedroom and scooped my sleeping daughter into my arms.
"Mommy, what is happening?" she mumbled sleepily.
"We are playing a silent game, baby," I whispered against her hair.
I carried her to the kitchen window that led out to the rusted fire escape.
The front door began to splinter as heavy boots kicked against the cheap wood.
I pushed the window up and climbed out into the freezing night air.
The metal stairs groaned loudly beneath my weight as I carried Chloe downward.
I heard my apartment door crash open above us.
Heavy footsteps stormed through my living room and approached the kitchen.
I ducked behind the brick wall of the alleyway just as a flashlight beam swept across the fire escape.
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"They went down the back," a deep male voice shouted from my kitchen window.
A silenced gunshot suddenly pierced the night, and a bullet shattered the brick right next to my head.
