Part 2 – A Warning in the Rain
Nathan lowered the phone slowly.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
The rain battered the floor-to-ceiling windows, turning the glittering skyline beyond into a blur of distorted lights.
Amelia searched her husband's face.
"What happened?"
Nathan's fingers tightened around the phone.
"It was an anonymous caller."
Vivian folded her arms.
"What did they want?"
Nathan hesitated.
"They said..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "...if Amelia stays in this penthouse tonight, she'll be dead before sunrise."
Silence settled over the room.
Amelia stared at him in disbelief.
"That's impossible."
Vivian remained calm, though the slight narrowing of her eyes betrayed that the threat had caught even her off guard.
"People make ridiculous threats every day."
Nathan shook his head.
"No."
"This wasn't random."
"He knew Amelia was here."
"He knew we were together."
"He knew where we were."
The realization spread through the room like ice.
Someone was watching them.
Right now.
Nathan immediately walked toward the security console mounted beside the entrance.
"Marcus."
Within seconds, the penthouse security chief answered through the intercom.
"Yes, Mr. Ashford?"
"Seal the building."
"Immediately."
"No one enters."
"No one leaves."
"I want every security camera reviewed from the last twelve hours."
"Understood."
"And call the police."
"Already doing it, sir."
Nathan ended the call.
He turned toward Amelia.
"You aren't leaving my sight."
She nodded silently.
Although fear filled her chest, something else bothered her even more.
The airline ticket.
The forged documents.
The frozen accounts.
Someone had spent months constructing a perfect trap.
This wasn't an impulsive crime.
It was carefully planned.
Someone wanted the world to believe she had stolen millions before making her disappear forever.
Twenty minutes later, two detectives arrived.
Detective Elena Brooks introduced herself with a firm handshake.
Her partner, Daniel Ross, carried a slim tablet loaded with case files.
Nathan escorted them into the living room.
Elena wasted no time.
"We've confirmed the anonymous call came from a disposable device."
"Can you trace it?"
"Not yet."
Daniel looked toward Amelia.
"Mrs. Ashford..."
"I need to ask a difficult question."
She nodded.
"Have you received any threats recently?"
"No."
"Arguments?"
"No."
"Blackmail?"
"No."
"Anyone asking unusual questions about your finances?"
Amelia frowned.
Then she remembered.
"There was..."
She paused.
"A man."
Nathan looked at her.
"What man?"
"I saw him twice."
"Where?"
"Outside the legal aid clinic."
"When?"
"About three weeks ago."
"What did he want?"
"He asked whether I still had access to the Ashford Foundation files."
Nathan frowned.
"You never told me."
"I thought he was a reporter."
"What did he look like?"
Amelia closed her eyes.
"Tall."
"Gray coat."
"Maybe fifty years old."
"Dark hair."
"He wore gloves."
Daniel typed quickly.
"Anything distinctive?"
She hesitated.
"There was..."
"A scar."
"Across his left cheek."
Daniel and Elena exchanged a glance.
Nathan noticed.
"You know who that is?"
Elena answered carefully.
"Possibly."
Daniel turned the tablet around.
Several photographs appeared.
"Take your time."
Amelia studied each face.
The fourth photograph made her freeze.
"That's him."
Daniel sighed quietly.
Nathan immediately looked at the name beneath the photograph.
Victor Hale.
Former forensic accountant.
Dismissed from multiple financial firms.
Currently under investigation in two countries for identity fraud.
Nathan's expression darkened.
"Why would he approach Amelia?"
Elena answered.
"Because he's very good at making innocent people appear guilty."
Hours later...
The rain had intensified.
Police officers continued searching the building.
Security footage streamed across several monitors in Nathan's private office.
Marcus paused one recording.
"There."
Nathan leaned closer.
A delivery driver entered the underground garage at 4:17 p.m.
Normal.
Another camera.
The same driver.
Different angle.
Then...
Marcus zoomed in.
"He never made the delivery."
Nathan frowned.
"What?"
Marcus enlarged the image.
The delivery van stopped in a blind spot.
Three minutes later, another man exited from the passenger side.
Baseball cap.
Dark coat.
Face hidden.
"He wasn't on the delivery manifest."
Nathan watched as the stranger disappeared toward the service elevators.
"Where did he go?"
Marcus switched cameras.
Nothing.
"He vanished."
Nathan's stomach tightened.
Someone had entered the building unnoticed.
Someone could still be inside.
Marcus immediately radioed every security officer.
"Search every maintenance corridor."
"Every storage room."
"No exceptions."
Meanwhile...
Amelia stood alone in the guest bedroom.
She hadn't intended to isolate herself.
She simply needed a moment to breathe.
The room was dark except for the city lights filtering through sheer curtains.
She sat on the edge of the bed.
Her thoughts raced.
Who wanted to destroy her?
She had never cared about the Ashford fortune.
Never asked for shares.
Never demanded power.
Then why frame her?
Her phone suddenly vibrated.
Unknown number.
She almost ignored it.
Instead...
She answered.
"Hello?"
No response.
Only breathing.
Then a woman's voice.
Soft.
Calm.
"You've forgotten me."
Amelia frowned.
"Who is this?"
"You still keep the silver music box."
Her blood ran cold.
Only one person knew about the music box.
Emily.
Her younger sister.
Emily had died twelve years earlier.
Car accident.
Amelia whispered,
"That's not possible."
The voice continued.
"You should never have trusted the Ashfords."
The line disconnected.
Amelia stared at the phone.
Her hands trembled uncontrollably.
Someone knew things no stranger should know.
The music box had remained locked inside Amelia's childhood bedroom until the day she married Nathan.
Almost no one had ever seen it.
Nathan found her minutes later.
"You look pale."
She handed him the phone.
"I received another call."
He listened carefully.
When she mentioned the music box, he frowned.
"I've never heard of it."
"I know."
"I've never shown it to anyone."
Nathan looked thoughtful.
"Where is it now?"
"In the attic."
"At our country house."
"No."
She shook her head.
"I brought it here."
"It's in the storage room downstairs."
Nathan's expression changed instantly.
"The storage room?"
"Yes."
He immediately pressed the intercom.
"Marcus."
"Sir?"
"Lock down the basement storage level."
"Right now."
"What's happened?"
Nathan looked toward Amelia.
"If someone knows about that box..."
"...they've been inside our home."
Fifteen minutes later...
Security officers entered the storage room.
Everything appeared untouched.
Dozens of labeled boxes filled the shelves.
Marcus located the one marked "Personal."
He opened it.
Inside lay old photographs.
Childhood books.
A faded stuffed rabbit.
The silver music box.
Marcus carefully picked it up.
"It's here."
Nathan exhaled in relief.
Then Marcus frowned.
"Wait."
"There wasn't supposed to be an envelope."
"What envelope?"
Tucked beneath the music box was a cream-colored envelope sealed with black wax.
No one recognized it.
Nathan broke the seal.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Three typed words.
YOU ARE LATE.
Nothing else.
Marcus immediately searched the box again.
Hidden beneath the false bottom lay a tiny black electronic device.
His face went pale.
"Nobody touch anything."
Nathan stepped back.
"What is it?"
Marcus crouched lower.
"I think..."
He swallowed.
"It's a tracking beacon."
Someone hadn't merely framed Amelia.
Someone had been tracking her movements for weeks.
And if the beacon had been hidden inside something she treasured, it meant the conspiracy had begun long before the missing millions—or the anonymous death threat.
As the realization settled over everyone in the room, another security officer's voice crackled through the radio.
"Chief!"
Marcus grabbed it.
"What is it?"
"We found a body in the underground garage."
The room fell silent.
May you like
Nathan's eyes met Amelia's.
Both of them knew, without saying a word, that whatever nightmare had begun tonight was only just unfolding.
