Chapter 7 - The Burner Phone
|
The sunlight creeping through the high, frosted windows of the safehouse offered no warmth. My mind was reeling from the discovery. Julian wasn't just hiding money from me; he was operating a massive financial fraud scheme. If his clients—some of whom were rumored to have ties to organized crime—found out, Julian was a dead man.
"This is our leverage," my father said, rapidly transferring the files onto a secure, encrypted flash drive. "If he tries to take my grandson, we hand this to the FBI."
Suddenly, a sharp, unfamiliar ringing cut through the quiet room.
It wasn't my phone. It wasn't my father's phone.
I turned around. My son was sitting up on the cot, rubbing his eyes with one hand. In his other hand, he held a small, cheap plastic cell phone I had never seen before.
"Where did you get that?" I gasped, rushing over to him.
"Daddy gave it to me," my son mumbled sleepily, looking at the glowing screen. "He told me to keep it in my dinosaur backpack. He said it was our secret walkie-talkie."
My blood ran completely cold. Julian had given a five-year-old a burner phone. He had been preparing for this exact scenario—a way to bypass me entirely and manipulate our child directly.
I snatched the phone from his hands. The caller ID simply read DADDY.
My father stepped up behind me, his expression turning into a mask of pure, lethal fury. He nodded once.
I answered the call and pressed it to my ear, remaining completely silent.
"Hey, buddy," Julian's voice came through the speaker. He sounded remarkably calm, playing the role of the loving father to absolute perfection. "Are you with Mommy? I miss you so much. Mommy is acting very silly right now, and Daddy needs to know exactly where you are so I can come get you."
I closed my eyes, a wave of profound disgust washing over me.
"He's not telling you where we are, Julian," I said, my voice dropping into a harsh, shaking whisper.
Julian stopped. The affectionate tone vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, venomous hiss.
May you like
"Evelyn," Julian snarled. "You have no idea what you're doing. You think hiding in your daddy's warehouse makes you safe? You stole my son. I will burn your entire family to the ground."
"You don't have the power to burn anything anymore," I replied. "I saw Project Atlas."
