Chapter 29 - The Secret Keeper
I walked into my home office and locked the door behind me. I booted up the heavily encrypted laptop I had sworn I would never use again. The screen glowed a harsh blue, illuminating my face as I accessed a hidden communications network on the dark web.
I typed a secure message to an old ally, a brilliant hacker named Thorne, who had helped me dismantle Silas's criminal empire years ago.
"The Crescent Moon is back. I need a trace on any newly established safe houses in the tri-state area."
The reply came almost instantly.
"I thought you were out of the game, Emmy."
"The game came to my front porch. Find him."
May you like
As the search algorithms ran in the background, I opened the bottom drawer of my desk. I moved aside a stack of mundane tax documents to reveal a biometric lockbox hidden beneath the false bottom. I pressed my thumb against the scanner.
The box clicked open, revealing a sleek, fully loaded compact firearm and two spare magazines. I had hoped it would gather dust forever. I checked the chamber, the metallic sound sharply breaking the silence of the room. I wasn't just a mother protecting her child; I was a survivor who had learned exactly how to fight back.
