Chapter 21 - A Sinister Black Envelope Waits at the Front Doorstep
Late that night, long after the apartment building had fallen into absolute silence and the hallway lights flickered out, a soft metallic scrape echoed outside.
Claire walked cautiously down her carpeted entryway and opened her apartment door to inspect the wooden welcome mat.
Resting right in the center of the mat was a plain black envelope sealed securely with a heavy blob of crimson wax.
There was no return address or postal mark, only an unfamiliar geometric silver crest stamped intricately into the wax.
She picked it up with a gloved hand, sliced open the heavy seal with a small letter opener, and unfolded the crisp cardstock note inside.
May you like
Scrawled across the paper in sharp, elegant silver ink was a chilling message that made her breath catch in her throat:
“Ethan and Vanessa were merely expendable interns in our master program, Claire... Vanguard Pharmaceuticals answers to a much higher global authority. Your little crusade has only just begun to attract our undivided attention.”
