Chapter 4 - THE SECRET INSIDE THE FLASH DRIVE
Ethan Whitmore had never been afraid of hospitals.
He had been afraid of losing people inside them.
By evening, the triplets' condition had stabilized.
But the doctors still didn't know what had caused the poisoning.
Ethan sat beside the glass wall, staring at the monitors.
He had not left the hospital.
He had not eaten.
He had not slept.
Then Sheriff Cole entered.
“We found something in the nursery.”
Ethan stood.
“What?”
“A hidden camera.”
Ethan's blood turned cold.
“Where?”
“Inside the smoke detector.”
“Who installed it?”
“We don't know.”
“Was it recording?”
“Yes.”
Ethan's hands tightened.
“Show me.”
They went to a private security room.
The footage showed the nursery.
At first, nothing happened.
Then, at 2:11 a.m., the door opened.
A figure entered.
The face was hidden.
The figure approached the cribs.
One by one, the babies were lifted.
Ethan watched in silence.
Then the figure turned toward the camera.
A hood covered the face.
But the body was unmistakable.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
A slight limp in the left leg.
Ethan stared.
“Caleb.”
Sheriff Cole nodded.
“We believe so.”
The footage continued.
Caleb carried the babies out.
But he did not go toward the barn.
He went toward the old storage building.
Ethan suddenly remembered the key.
The key with the letter C.
He looked at the sheriff.
“Search that building again.”
“We already did.”
“Search it again.”
The sheriff hesitated.
“Why?”
“Because something is there.”
They returned to the ranch after midnight.
The old storage building stood behind the barn.
Ethan unlocked the door.
Inside were old tools, broken furniture, and boxes covered in dust.
Sheriff Cole's flashlight moved across the room.
Then Ethan saw something.
A loose floorboard.
He knelt.
The board lifted easily.
Beneath it was a metal box.
Inside the box were documents.
Bank statements.
Photographs.
And a small black notebook.
Ethan opened it.
The first page contained a single sentence.
Caroline knows.
Ethan's breath stopped.
He turned the page.
More names.
More dates.
More payments.
And at the bottom of one page:
Whitmore estate — transfer after death.
Sheriff Cole stared over his shoulder.
“What does this mean?”
Ethan couldn't speak.
Then he saw a photograph.
Caroline.
His wife.
Standing beside Caleb.
The picture had been taken three months before her death.
But that wasn't what shocked him.
Caroline was holding a small envelope.
On the back of the photograph was written:
She was going to tell him.
Ethan dropped it.
The room seemed to spin.
Caroline had known something.
She had planned to tell him.
And then she had died.
“Mr. Whitmore,” Sheriff Cole said quietly.
Ethan looked at the notebook.
“Find Caleb.”
“He's missing.”
Ethan looked up.
“What?”
“He left the ranch an hour ago.”
“Where?”
“We don't know.”
Ethan stared at the evidence.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
No one spoke.
“Who is this?”
A woman's voice whispered:
“Your wife was murdered.”
Ethan froze.
“Who are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Then tell me who killed her.”
The voice trembled.
“You already know him.”
The call ended.
Ethan looked at Sheriff Cole.
The sheriff was staring at him.
Then Ethan noticed something else.
A small red light blinking beneath the table.
Another camera.
Someone had been watching them search the room.
Ethan reached for it.
The camera went dark.
A message appeared on his phone.
Stop digging.
Then another.
Or the next fever will be permanent.
Ethan's face turned cold.
He looked through the glass toward the room where his children slept.
May you like
Someone had threatened his babies.
And Ethan Whitmore had finally run out of patience.
