Chapter 9: The Warehouse
1903 Words
The warehouse was exactly where the coordinates led us.
Old.
Abandoned.
And far enough from the city that no one would accidentally walk past it.
I stared at the building through the windshield.
“This is definitely a terrible idea.”
Adrian turned off the engine.
“You're only saying that now?”
“I've been saying that since the beginning.”
He smiled.
“Fair.”
I looked at the warehouse again.
There were no lights.
No cars.
No signs that anyone had been there recently.
Yet somehow, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was waiting for us.
Adrian reached for the door handle.
“Stay here.”
I immediately grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“You're not going inside alone.”
“I'll be fine.”
“You disappeared yesterday.”
“I was taken.”
“Exactly.”
He stared at me.
I crossed my arms.
“If you're going in, I'm going with you.”
He sighed.
“You're impossible.”
“You've mentioned that.”
He opened the door.
“Fine. Stay close.”
We walked toward the warehouse.
The main door was slightly open.
Adrian stopped.
“Someone's been here.”
“How do you know?”
“There are fresh tire marks.”
I looked down.
He was right.
Two sets of tire marks led toward the building.
My stomach tightened.
“Maybe we shouldn't go inside.”
Adrian looked at me.
“You said you wanted answers.”
“I do.”
“Then let's get them.”
He pushed the door open.
The smell of dust and old metal hit me immediately.
It was dark.
Adrian turned on his phone flashlight.
I stayed close behind him.
We walked deeper into the warehouse.
There were several old wooden crates scattered around.
Nothing unusual.
Then I noticed something.
“Adrian.”
He stopped.
“What?”
I pointed toward the floor.
A piece of paper.
He picked it up.
It was an old receipt.
He looked at it.
“Meridian.”
My heart started beating faster.
“From when?”
“Six years ago.”
I looked around.
“So this place was connected to Meridian?”
“Apparently.”
We kept walking.
Then we found a small office at the back.
The door was locked.
Adrian examined it.
“Move.”
He pulled something from his pocket.
“What are you doing?”
“Opening the door.”
“Is that legal?”
He glanced at me.
“Do you want the truth or the law?”
I laughed.
“Just open the door.”
A few seconds later, the lock clicked.
The door opened.
Inside was a desk.
A filing cabinet.
And a single chair.
Nothing else.
I frowned.
“That's it?”
Adrian walked toward the desk.
“Look closer.”
I did.
There were scratches on the floor.
The desk had been moved recently.
Adrian pushed it aside.
There was a small metal box underneath.
My heart jumped.
“That's it.”
He picked it up.
There was a lock on it.
I took the key from my pocket.
The key from my mother's jewelry box.
I looked at Adrian.
“Should I?”
He nodded.
I inserted the key.
Click.
The box opened.
Inside was a USB drive.
A photograph.
And a folded document.
I picked up the photograph first.
It showed my mother.
She was standing beside Elena.
But there was another person in the photograph.
Daniel.
My fingers tightened around the edges.
“Six years ago.”
Adrian nodded.
I looked at Daniel's face.
He looked younger.
Happy.
Like nothing in his life was wrong.
I turned the photograph over.
There was handwriting on the back.
He knows where the records are.
My heart dropped.
“Who?”
Adrian looked at the photograph.
“Daniel.”
I picked up the document.
It was a list of names.
I scanned it.
Some were familiar.
Some weren't.
Then I saw Daniel's name.
Beside it was an amount of money.
I looked further down.
Vanessa.
Another amount.
Then Adrian.
I froze.
I looked at him.
“You were paid too.”
He didn't answer.
“You were working for Meridian.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my mother.”
“Yes.”
“And you were paid by the same company.”
“Yes.”
I felt betrayed.
“You've been lying to me.”
“I didn't lie about everything.”
“But you hid this.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
“Because if you knew everything about me, you wouldn't trust me.”
I laughed.
“You're right.”
I put the document down.
“I don't trust you.”
He looked hurt.
But he didn't argue.
Then I picked up the USB.
“What is this?”
“I don't know.”
“There's only one way to find out.”
He looked around.
“We need a computer.”
“There should be one in the office.”
We searched the desk.
There was an old laptop.
Adrian turned it on.
It took several minutes.
Finally, the screen lit up.
I inserted the USB.
There was one file.
Only one.
A video.
I looked at Adrian.
“Should we?”
He nodded.
I pressed play.
The screen showed my mother.
I stopped breathing.
She was sitting in front of the camera.
She looked tired.
Older.
But it was definitely her.
“If you're watching this, then something happened to me.”
My eyes filled with tears.
Adrian said nothing.
My mother continued.
“I don't know when you'll find this.”
She took a deep breath.
“But if you have this, then you already know about Meridian.”
I covered my mouth.
She looked directly into the camera.
“There are people who will tell you that I betrayed them.”
She paused.
“Don't believe them.”
The video continued.
“I didn't steal the records.”
I looked at Adrian.
“I hid them.”
My heart pounded.
“Because they contain proof of what Meridian has done.”
She leaned closer.
“And if you're watching this, they're probably looking for them.”
I whispered,
“What records?”
My mother continued.
“They're not on the USB.”
I froze.
“What?”
“They never were.”
The screen changed.
A photograph appeared.
My childhood bedroom.
My old house.
I stared at it.
My mother spoke again.
“The records are somewhere only you can find.”
The screen went black.
I stared at the laptop.
“That can't be it.”
Adrian checked the video.
“It ended.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“She didn't tell me where.”
“Maybe there's another file.”
“There isn't.”
I looked at the photograph on the screen.
My childhood bedroom.
I knew that room.
I hadn't been there in years.
Then I remembered something.
A small wooden box.
My mother used to keep it underneath my bed.
I looked at Adrian.
“I know where they are.”
“Where?”
“My old house.”
He immediately stood.
“Then we're going.”
I grabbed the photograph.
But before we could leave, we heard something.
A car door slammed outside.
Adrian turned off the laptop.
“Someone's here.”
My heart started pounding.
“How many?”
He moved toward the window.
“Two cars.”
“Can they see us?”
“Not yet.”
“What do we do?”
He looked at me.
“There's another exit.”
We moved toward the back of the warehouse.
Then headlights suddenly appeared through the windows.
Someone had turned on the car lights.
I heard a door slam.
Then another.
Voices.
“Check the warehouse.”
My heart raced.
“They know we're here.”
Adrian grabbed my hand.
“Come on.”
We ran.
We reached the back door.
Locked.
Adrian pulled at it.
Nothing.
“Adrian.”
“I'm trying.”
The voices were getting closer.
I looked around.
There had to be another way out.
Then I noticed a small window near the ceiling.
“Up there.”
He looked.
“Too high.”
“We can move the crates.”
We pushed a wooden crate beneath the window.
Adrian climbed first.
Then he reached down.
“Give me your hand.”
I jumped.
He caught me.
For a second, I was pressed against him.
His arms were around my waist.
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
Neither of us spoke.
Then someone shouted from the other side of the warehouse.
“They're here!”
Adrian immediately lifted me higher.
“Go.”
I climbed through the window.
He followed.
We dropped onto the other side of the building.
I looked back.
Several men were entering the warehouse.
“Run.”
We ran toward the car.
Adrian unlocked it.
I jumped inside.
He started the engine.
We sped away.
Neither of us spoke until the warehouse disappeared behind us.
Then I looked at him.
“Who were they?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I don't know who those specific men were.”
I stared at him.
“Better.”
He glanced at me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Sure?”
“Yes.”
He looked at me again.
“You're shaking.”
“I know.”
He reached over and took my hand.
I looked down.
His fingers tightened around mine.
“Breathe.”
I took a slow breath.
Then another.
“You know,” I said quietly, “this is officially the worst date I've ever been on.”
He laughed.
“Date?”
“I didn't say it was a date.”
“You did.”
“I said worst date.”
“So it was a date.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Don't ruin the moment.”
He smiled.
Then his expression became serious again.
“We need to get to your old house.”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
I looked down at the photograph.
My mother had left the records somewhere from my childhood.
Which meant she had trusted me to find them.
But there was one thing I couldn't stop thinking about.
If Daniel had spent three years searching for them...
What would he do when he realized I had finally found the first clue?
My phone vibrated.
I looked at the screen.
A message from Daniel.
Daniel: Come home. We need to talk.
I stared at it.
Then another message appeared.
Daniel: I know where you went tonight.
My blood went cold.
Adrian glanced at my phone.
“What did he say?”
I showed him.
His jaw tightened.
Then my phone vibrated again.
Daniel: You really should have stayed out of this.
I stared at the screen.
For the first time, there was no “babe.”
No “I love you.”
No pretending.
Just a warning.
I slowly smiled.
Adrian looked at me.
“Why are you smiling?”
I locked my phone.
“Because he's finally scared.”
Adrian nodded.
“Good.”
I looked out the window.
“Now I want to see how scared he can get.”
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