“Mommy?” Emma whispered, pressing her little face to my neck. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, my love,” I said, my hands trembling as I opened the door. “Let’s go for a walk.”
As soon as we crossed the threshold, I heard it.
Mermaids.
Not one or two.
Many.
Too many
They sounded distant, but with each passing second they were getting closer. I froze on the porch, feeling fear rising from my feet.
“Mom…” Emma clung tightly to my neck.
Then I saw them. Black SUVs without license plates were speeding down the street from both sides. Police cars were behind them, their red and blue lights illuminating everything as if it were daytime. Neighbors came out of their houses, in their pajamas, pointing, not understanding anything.
My cell phone vibrated again. Daniel.
“Have you left yet?” he asked, with an urgency that chilled me to the bone.
“Yes,” I whispered. “What’s happening?”
—Get in the car. Lock it. Drive away from the house. Don’t stop for anything, do you hear me?
I ran.
I settled Emma into her car seat, struggling with the seatbelt because my hands wouldn’t obey me. As I started driving, I glanced in the rearview mirror
The police surrounded my sister’s house. Armed officers got out of patrol cars shouting orders, pointing their weapons at the entrance.
Then I saw something that chilled my blood.
They weren’t looking for a person.
They were looking for something inside the house…
What I discovered next changed my life forever…
Part 2.
At that moment I understood that this was no ordinary raid…
And the worst part…
Daniel knew it before anyone else.
THE SECRET THAT DANIEL HID FROM ME
I drove aimlessly until my fingers cramped from gripping the steering wheel so tightly. Emma sat silently in the back seat, sensing my fear even though she didn’t understand it. I pulled into an empty supermarket parking lot and answered again.
“Tell me everything,” I demanded, my voice breaking.
She sighed heavily.
“I never meant for you to find out like this.”
—Find out what?
—I work for a private cybersecurity company contracted by the Prosecutor’s Office—he confessed. —I analyze financial crimes: money laundering, shell companies, illegal transfers
I stared at the board, as if I couldn’t focus my eyes.
—You always said you worked in systems.
“I didn’t lie to you,” he replied. “I just didn’t tell you the whole truth.”
—So… why was the police at my sister’s house?