Chapter 4 - The Ghost in the Dark
I rushed forward and desperately untied the thick ropes binding the Chief's hands.
He pulled the gag from his mouth and coughed violently.
"We have to get out of here right now," the Chief gasped, leaning heavily against the concrete wall.
"What is going on, and who is Adele?" I demanded, holding Oliver tightly to my side.
The Chief looked at me with deep sympathy in his tired eyes.
"Adele is a retired federal witness who stole a digital ledger containing billions of cartel dollars," he explained.
"They cut her power to disable her advanced security grid, but your son's innocent gift triggered her silent emergency alarm."
"Those piggy banks in your yard were a message from the cartel, telling her they have you surrounded."
My mind spun as the terrifying reality finally set in.
Suddenly, the sound of slow, deliberate footsteps echoed from the wooden stairs leading down to the basement.
"You always were too smart for your own good, Chief," a voice called out from the darkness.
My blood ran completely cold.
The voice belonged to my husband, David.
But David had died in a tragic boating accident three entire years ago.
I stared at the staircase, my breath catching in my throat as a tall figure stepped into the dim light.
It was not David.
It was a vicious-looking man in a tailored suit holding a small, digital tape recorder.
He smiled and pressed a button, playing another recording of my dead husband's voice.
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"Your husband didn't die by accident, sweetheart, he stole from my cartel," the man sneered.
"My name is Silas, and you are going to give me that silver USB drive right now."
