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At first, I couldn’t breathe.
The passports looked real.
My photograph.
Noah’s photograph.
Caleb’s photograph.
But the names beneath them belonged to complete strangers.
The man in the raincoat pointed at the documents.
“They’re ready,” he said.
Caleb nodded.
“What about the transfer?”
“Tomorrow night.”
“And my wife?”
The stranger smiled.
“She’ll never know.”
Every muscle in my body locked.
The attic suddenly felt too small.
Too hot.
Too quiet.
I reached for my phone with trembling fingers.
Mara had stayed on the line the entire time.
“You see them?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“Don’t move.”
“How did you know?”
“I’ll explain later.”
Below us, Caleb zipped the passports into the black case.
“I can’t believe she never questioned anything.”
The stranger laughed.
“People only see what they expect to see.”
Caleb smiled.
“Emily trusts everyone.”
Hearing my own name in his mouth made my stomach twist.
The man handed Caleb another envelope.
This one was thick.
Very thick.
Cash.
Stacks of it.
“Half now.”
“The rest after the family disappears.”
Disappear?
My heart nearly stopped.
I pressed a hand over my mouth to keep from gasping.
The stranger looked toward the staircase.
For one terrifying second I thought he’d heard me.
Instead, he adjusted his collar.
“I’ll contact you tomorrow.”
He left through the back door.
Caleb stood alone in the hallway.
He opened my laptop.
Typed rapidly.
Then closed it again.
Finally, he carried everything into his office.
Only after his office door shut did I allow myself to breathe.
“Emily.”
Mara’s voice was barely audible.
“You still there?”
“Yes.”
“You have to leave.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will.”
“Tell me what’s happening.”
There was silence.
Then…
“I’ve been investigating Caleb for six months.”
“What?”
“I’m working with federal investigators.”
I almost dropped the phone.
“What are you talking about?”
“The investment company he works for?”
“Yes.”
“It’s a front.”
“For what?”
“Identity fraud.”
My chest tightened.
“They steal identities?”
“They create entirely new ones.”
I struggled to process the words.
“The passports…”
“Are just the beginning.”
Mara continued quietly.
“They fake deaths.”
“What?”
“They erase people financially.”
My pulse thundered.
“Emily…”
“They were preparing to erase your family.”
I leaned against an old wooden beam to stay standing.
“No.”
“I wish I were wrong.”
Downstairs, Caleb’s office light turned off.
Footsteps.
He was coming upstairs.
“Mara.”
“Go.”
“I can’t.”
“You have sixty seconds.”
I quietly crawled backward through the attic.
Dust coated my hands.
Cobwebs clung to my sleeves.