Chapter 20 - The Unseen Shadow
Two years later, on a quiet rainy afternoon in late autumn, I sat in my corner office at the foundation's new headquarters.
The phone on my desk chimed—a priority call from the Colorado Department of Corrections Office of Victim Services.
"Mrs. Bennett," the official on the line said, his voice measured and serious. "We are calling to provide an official status update regarding Grant Bennett."
"Did his parole appeal get denied again?" I asked calmly, watching the rain streak down the glass windowpane.
"No, Mrs. Bennett," the officer replied, taking a heavy breath before continuing.
"Grant Bennett was transferred to an outside medical facility in Pueblo this morning following a severe cardiovascular event."
"While at the hospital, an unauthorized visitor attempted to deliver an encrypted mobile device to his room."
"When officers intercepted the device, they found a series of encrypted messages addressed to a former business partner in Europe..."
"Messages containing recent surveillance photos of your daughter's pre-school and your foundation's private address."
My heart froze in my chest, a sudden, icy chill gripping my spine as I stared at the rain falling over the city skyline.
Grant wasn't just sitting in his cell serving his sentence—he had been plotting something far more sinister from behind bars all along.
"Mrs. Bennett, are you still there?" the officer asked through the receiver.
I gripped the phone tightly, looking at a framed photograph of Maya smiling on my desk, her bright eyes filled with innocent light.
May you like
"I'm here," I whispered softly, my voice turning into solid, unbreakable steel once again.
"Tell me everything."
