Chapter 2 - The Silent Alarm
My pulse hammered a relentless rhythm against my ribs as I scooped Noah into my arms, his small body trembling against my chest. The grand ballroom of the Grandview Hotel continued to swirl with festive music and clinking champagne flutes, completely oblivious to the silent poison planted beneath Table Four.
“Mommy…” Noah buried his face in the crook of my neck, his fingers clutching my silk dress. “Is it a bomb?”
“No, baby,” I whispered, my voice miraculously steady despite the cold terror gripping my throat. “It’s just a game. We’re going to play hide and seek outside, okay?”
I squeezed through the crowd, nodding politely at my aunt and dodging a waiter carrying a tray of crab cakes. Every shadow felt like an eye; every guest seemed like a suspect. My sister Rose was on the dance floor, spun around by her new husband, Julian, both of them radiating pure, untouchable joy. I couldn’t ruin this for her—not until I knew what I was dealing with.
Stepping through the heavy double doors into the cool night air of the courtyard, I finally let out a ragged breath. The rain had just started to fall, a soft, misty drizzle that cooled the heat radiating from my face.
Before I could even reach the paved pathway leading toward the parking lot, my phone buzzed in my clutch.
A single vibration. Heavy and ominous.
I pulled out the device with shaking fingers.
Unknown Number: You shouldn’t have looked, Clara. Now the game speeds up.
May you like
I stared at the screen, my blood turning to ice. The text had arrived less than thirty seconds after I stood up from the table. Whoever placed that device wasn't just listening—they were watching me in real time.
I turned around slowly, looking back through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows at the two hundred guests inside. Among the laughter, the tailored tuxedos, and the evening gowns, a predator was standing right in plain sight, holding a phone, watching me panic.
