Three days later...
There was only one story everyone in America was talking about.
The fall of the Henderson family.
The company's stock had plummeted.
Investors were pulling out.
Reporters camped outside the Henderson estate day and night.
By now, Marcus had lost almost everything.
His job.
His reputation.
His friends.
Even Penelope had quietly left the hospital without leaving a single message.
For the first time in his life, Marcus was completely alone.
That evening, he sat in his empty apartment.
His phone vibrated.
It wasn't an unknown number.
It wasn't a lawyer.
It wasn't a journalist.
It was simply an email with no sender.
It contained only one sentence.
"If you want to know the truth about Julianne, come to Gate 17 at O'Hare Airport tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. Come alone."
Marcus stared at the screen for several minutes.
Who knew where Julianne was?
And why were they contacting him?
...
At that very moment, thousands of miles away in Switzerland, Julianne's son was peacefully playing in the garden of the estate.
Her daughter laughed as she chased butterflies across the lawn.
For the first time in years, Julianne finally felt at peace.
Then a security guard approached her.
"Mrs. Henderson..."
"We've just received an alert."
He handed her a tablet.
A surveillance photo appeared on the screen.
An unidentified man had spent hours taking photographs of the estate.
Below the image were only two words:
"Target confirmed."
Julianne's heart began to race.
She knew those words.
Far too well.
They were the exact same words that had been used years earlier...
Just before her father disappeared without a trace.
She looked at her two children.
Then whispered,
"They've found us..."
Far away, at O'Hare Airport, precisely at eight o'clock, a woman in a long black coat appeared.
She placed a sealed envelope into Marcus's hands.
"If you want to know why Julianne was never afraid to walk away from everything..."
"...you must first learn the truth about her father's death."
Before Marcus could ask another question, the woman disappeared into the crowd.
With trembling hands, Marcus opened the envelope.
His eyes widened.
On the very first page was only one name.
Marcus Henderson.
He quickly turned to the next page...
And froze.
To be continued...
