Chapter 6: The Price of Protecting My Family

The room fell completely silent after Aaron read the message.

I watched his expression change from suspicion to something much darker.

He immediately ordered the officers to disconnect my phone from every network and preserve the device as evidence.

But I already knew that whoever had sent the message wanted exactly this reaction.

They wanted Aaron to believe they were close.

They wanted me frightened.

Unfortunately for them, fear was no longer something I was unfamiliar with.

I had already died once.

What could possibly scare me more than that?

Aaron turned toward me.

Did you know this person would contact you?

No.

Are you sure?

I nodded.

But I knew someone was watching.

Aaron studied my face before asking another question.

Then tell me about the money.

I hesitated.

The money I stole from my family was not sitting in a normal bank account. I had divided it into several accounts under different names, then transferred most of it into a trust that could not be accessed without multiple forms of authorization.

Aaron frowned.

You planned this far ahead?

I smiled faintly.

I had to.

I reached into my memory and recalled the first night after leaving the psychiatric hospital.

Daniel had sat beside my bed with a bowl of fruit, carefully peeling every piece for me. My sister-in-law had checked my medicine twice before going to sleep. My brother had stood outside my room for almost an hour because he was afraid I might wake up from another nightmare.

They had been so kind that I almost gave up on my plan.

Almost.

Then I saw the envelope.

It had been placed beneath my brother's study door.

Inside was a photograph of our family home.

Someone had taken it from across the street.

On the back of the photograph was a single sentence.

You cannot save them twice.

I knew then that my memories were not paranoia.

Someone else remembered what happened.

I told Aaron everything.

He listened without interrupting.

When I finished, he asked where the photograph was.

I don't have it anymore.

Why?

Because I burned it.

Aaron's expression tightened.

You destroyed evidence?

I shook my head.

I destroyed the photograph. I memorized the details first.

Then I described the image.

The house was photographed from the eastern side of the road. There was a black vehicle parked beneath a streetlamp. Its license plate was partly visible. More importantly, there was a small symbol on the rear window.

Aaron immediately wrote it down.

What kind of symbol?

A silver crescent with a line through the middle.

He stopped writing.

I've seen that before.

My heart skipped.

Where?

Aaron opened a separate file from his briefcase.

It contained photographs from several old criminal investigations.

He spread them across the table.

This symbol has appeared near three major financial crimes in the last two years. Every victim thought they were dealing with unrelated investors. Every investigation eventually collapsed because the money disappeared before we could trace it.

I stared at the photographs.

The same silver crescent appeared on documents, vehicles, and even one security camera image.

My fingers curled into fists.

So it wasn't just my family.

No.

Aaron looked at me carefully.

Your brother may have been targeted long before you realized it.

A cold feeling settled in my chest.

In my previous life, I had believed the collapse of my family was caused by greed, bad investments, and my own mistakes.

But if the same organization had been doing this to other wealthy families, then my brother had never stood a chance.

I looked at Aaron.

Can you investigate it?

I already am.

Then why are you here instead of chasing them?

Because you are the only person who seems to know what happened before it happened.

I gave a bitter laugh.

And you still think I'm a criminal.

You are a criminal.

His answer was immediate.

But you may also be a victim.

Those words hit harder than I expected.

For years, I had convinced myself that I had to become cruel in order to protect the people I loved.

Hearing someone call me a victim made my throat tighten.

Before I could respond, Aaron's phone rang.

He answered it.

His expression changed almost instantly.

What happened?

I watched him listen in silence.

Then he looked at me.

Your brother has disappeared.

My heart stopped.

What?

He was released from the hospital two hours ago. His phone was turned off shortly afterward. His car was found abandoned near the old financial district.

I stood so quickly that my chair nearly fell backward.

No.

Aaron grabbed my arm before I could move.

Where do you think you're going?

To find him.

You're not leaving this building.

My brother is in danger.

I know.

Then let me go.

Aaron's grip tightened.

Claire, that's exactly what they want.

I froze.

He continued in a low voice.

They couldn't reach you while you were in custody, so they went after the person you would risk everything to protect.

My breathing became uneven.

A moment later, another officer rushed into the room holding a sealed envelope.

Detective Ford, this was delivered to the station entrance.

Aaron took it.

There was no sender.

He opened it carefully.

Inside was a photograph.

My brother was sitting in a dark room with his hands tied behind his back.

He was alive.

But someone had written a message across the bottom of the photograph.

Bring Claire to the old railway station before midnight, or Daniel dies next.

My blood turned cold.

Aaron looked at me.

You are staying here.

I shook my head.

No.

Claire.

I stepped closer to him.

You said I might be a victim. Then trust me when I say this is the only way to keep my brother alive.

Aaron stared at me for a long moment.

Finally, he sighed.

Fine. But you don't take one step without me.

I nodded.

As we left the interrogation room, I glanced back at the photograph one last time.

For the first time since my rebirth, I understood the real game.

Someone wasn't trying to destroy my family anymore.

They were trying to force me to choose which member of my family I was willing to lose.

And this time, I refused to lose anyone.