Chapter 21 - A Mysterious Package Arrives With Shocking New Information
The midnight stillness over the Lake Forest estate was broken only by the soft whistle of the winter wind outside.
Suddenly, the secure digital intercom near the front entrance chime sounded with a sharp electronic alert.
Daniel Pike hurried up to the master study where Nathaniel and I were reviewing architectural blueprints.
“Mr. Cross, apologies for the late hour, but a courier just dropped off a priority package at the front gate,” Daniel reported.
Nathaniel took the heavy manila envelope, cutting it open with a silver letter opener while standing under the desk lamp.
Inside was a single handwritten note and a modern digital flash drive bearing an encrypted international postal stamp.
Nathaniel plugged the drive into his secure laptop, watching as an encrypted video file loaded onto the bright screen.
The video showed an exterior shot of a dimly lit medical clinic in Zurich, Switzerland, dated only three days prior.
Then the camera panned to a bedridden patient sitting up against hospital pillows, looking directly into the lens.
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And as I leaned over Nathaniel’s shoulder to look at the screen, my breath caught in my throat with absolute terror:
It was David Bennett—my supposedly dead husband—looking older with graying hair, whispering a desperate final warning.
