CHAPTER THREE
I wake up to find Hunter already gone. There’s a note on the pillow, though:
Had to take care of something. Stay in the house today.
I frown. After last night’s revelations, I’m more curious than ever about what’s going on with Luke and John. But I also don’t want to push Hunter away by being too nosy.
I decide to spend the day exploring the house more thoroughly. There are so many rooms I haven’t been in yet. I wander through a home gym, a library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and what looks like a wine cellar.
Eventually, I find myself back outside that steel door with the keypad. I stare at it, debating what to do.
Don’t be stupid, I tell myself. You already got in trouble for snooping.
But curiosity wins out. I try a few obvious combinations: 1234, 1111, Hunter’s birthday (I snooped in his calendar). Nothing works.
Then I remember something Hunter said on the phone. Something about Luke. What was it?
“Money means nothing, Luke.”
Luke. His brother. Maybe the code has something to do with Luke?
But I don’t know Luke’s birthday either. I pull out my phone and start searching. “Luke” and “Stockchurn” and “Hunter.”
I don’t find anything useful. I’m about to give up when I remember the conversation I overheard. Hunter called Luke his brother. They grew up in foster care together.
I pull out my phone and search for information about Hunter’s background. Most results are about his businesses, but I finally find an old local news article titled “Foster Brother Adopts Younger Brother”.
The article includes a photo. I zoom in and read the caption: “Hunter, 22, and Luke, 12, celebrating Luke’s birthday on December 8th.”
December 8th. 12/08.
I rush back to the steel door and punch in 1208.
The lock clicks open.
My heart races as I push the door open. I’m not sure what I’m expecting exactly. Maybe some kind of secret lair? The room is pretty plain though, except for the stairs in the middle of it. They lead down.
I descend the stairs slowly, my heart pounding. At the bottom, there’s another door. This one isn’t locked.
I open it and gasp.
The room is massive, with screens covering one entire wall. But it’s not the technology that catches my attention—it’s the maps and photos pinned to a board on the opposite wall.
Most of the photos are surveillance photos. It looks like photos of a warehouse. There’s also photos of a man I don’t recognize. Maybe that’s John? I think to myself. And in the center of the board is a photo of a younger man. That must be Luke.
I step closer, examining the board. In addition to the photos, there are notes pinned everywhere—timelines, addresses, phone numbers, and scribbles I can’t read.
“What the hell are you doing in here?”
Fuck. Shock rushes through my body.
I spin around. Hunter’s standing in the doorway, and he does not look happy…