Chapter 21 - A Chilling Warning Left on the Back Porch
Late that night, after the house had grown completely silent, a sudden cold gust of wind blew across the coast.
Lucas woke up sensing an unfamiliar vibration coming from his old encrypted satellite phone resting on the nightstand.
He slipped out of bed quietly, careful not to wake Elena or little Alma sleeping peacefully in the next room.
He picked up the device, watching the screen illuminate with an unencrypted data stream from an unknown foreign IP.
It wasn't a promotional message or a routine system error from his old intelligence network contacts.
A single high-resolution image appeared on the display, showing the front wooden porch of their quiet Maine home.
Resting right beside the welcome mat was a small, unmarked wooden box tied with a faded black silk ribbon.
Before Lucas could tap the screen to trace the incoming signal, a single text message popped up underneath:
“You escaped the branch office in Boston, Samuel... but the syndicate never forgets its debts.”
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Lucas stared at the glowing letters while a sudden heavy knock echoed softly against the back door downstairs:
The nightmare was only beginning all over again.
