Chapter 5 - The Enemy Behind the Nursery Door
Sloane looked toward the apartment door, suddenly aware of every sound in the hallway.
"Explain what you mean."
Tessa's voice trembled.
"Remember the nursery renovation?"
Sloane's stomach tightened.
Three weeks earlier, their apartment had been renovated to prepare for the baby's arrival.
An interior designer named Celia Hart had overseen everything.
Celia was efficient, charming, and supposedly recommended by Rafe's security department.
She knew the building's access codes.
She knew Sloane's medical schedule.
She knew which evenings Rafe was likely to be home.
"Why are you asking about Celia?" Sloane whispered.
"Because she isn't an interior designer."
Across the city, Rafe stood in his office while Malik displayed Celia's photograph.
Her real name was Celia Shaw.
Victor Shaw's daughter.
The man connected to Daniel Bennett's disappearance.
Rafe clenched his fists.
"Where is she?"
"Missing since midnight."
"Her apartment?"
"Empty."
Rafe looked at the nursery photograph on his desk.
A pale green room.
A white crib.
A rocking chair Sloane had chosen herself.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
Celia had insisted on installing a special air-monitoring device near the baby's changing table.
She claimed it would improve nursery safety.
Rafe had approved the expense without asking questions.
"Malik, sweep the apartment."
Thirty minutes later, the security team found three hidden microphones and a miniature camera behind the nursery's decorative wall panel.
Rafe stared at the devices.
Someone had been watching his wife inside the home he'd promised was safe.
He sent Sloane a message.
The apartment was compromised. I've had the surveillance removed. Please don't return there. You don't have to tell me where you are.
Sloane read the message twice.
For the first time since leaving, she felt something besides anger.
He wasn't demanding.
He wasn't ordering.
He was warning her without asking for anything in return.
Then June's apartment buzzer rang.
The building's front desk had a delivery for Sloane.
A small white box.
Inside sat a pair of pink baby shoes.
Beneath them was a photograph of the nursery.
On the back, someone had written:
Leaving your husband doesn't mean you've escaped his enemies.
But the most terrifying detail was the timestamp.
May you like
The photograph had been taken less than an hour earlier.
Someone was still inside the Calder apartment.
