Chapter 4: The Truth Hidden in the Bear

The house fell silent after the threat.

Only the sound of wind and distant rain remained.

Adrian kept me behind the overturned sofa, his body positioned between me and the shattered window.

'Stay down,' he whispered.

'I wasn't planning to stand up.'

Another minute passed.

Then another.

No more gunshots.

No movement outside.

The silence somehow felt worse.

'Did they leave?' I asked.

'No.'

'How do you know?'

'Because if they wanted us dead, we'd already be dead.'

My stomach tightened.

'Then what do they want?'

Adrian looked toward the teddy bear lying near the fireplace.

'The evidence.'

The answer was immediate.

Certain.

And terrifying.

A few moments later, Adrian carefully checked the security cameras using a backup monitor hidden behind a bookshelf.

The screens flickered to life.

Three masked men surrounded the property.

One stood near the front gate.

One watched the rear entrance.

The third remained hidden among the trees.

'We're trapped.'

'For now,' Adrian replied.

'You sound calm.'

'I'm not calm.'

'You hide it well.'

His eyes briefly met mine.

'I've had practice.'

The answer carried more sadness than I expected.

For a second, I wondered how many years he had spent living with Celeste's ghost.

Then I pushed the thought away.

There were more urgent problems.

Like surviving the night.

The phone hidden inside the teddy bear suddenly powered on by itself.

Both of us stared.

'That's impossible,' I whispered.

'Nothing about this situation is normal.'

A video file appeared on the screen.

Neither of us had opened it.

The file name read:

'IF THEY FIND THE BEAR.'

My heart nearly stopped.

'Play it,' I said.

Adrian hesitated.

'Now.'

Slowly, he pressed the screen.

Static appeared.

Then a woman's face filled the display.

Celeste Monroe.

Alive.

Scared.

Looking directly into the camera.

'If you're watching this, something has gone terribly wrong.'

Her voice shook.

'Adrian, I'm sorry.'

I watched his face carefully.

Pain flashed through his eyes.

Real pain.

'I don't think I have much time.'

Celeste continued.

'Marcus knows I copied the financial records.'

'He knows I found the offshore accounts.'

'He knows I was going to expose everything.'

She swallowed hard.

'If I disappear, don't trust anyone connected to the Monroe Foundation.'

'Not the board.'

'Not the lawyers.'

'Not even the police.'

My pulse raced.

'The proof is hidden inside the bear.'

Adrian immediately looked toward it.

So did I.

Celeste continued speaking.

'The original drive is sewn into the left leg.'

'Everything is there.'

'Names. Accounts. Payments. Murder orders.'

Murder orders.

The words chilled the room.

'And Adrian...'

Her expression softened.

'None of this was your fault.'

The video ended.

Silence.

Heavy silence.

Neither of us spoke.

Finally I looked at the teddy bear.

'The left leg.'

Adrian nodded.

'Apparently.'

'Then why haven't you opened it before?'

'Because I didn't know.'

'You spent six years protecting it without checking inside?'

'It was the only thing the kidnappers failed to take after she disappeared.'

I stared at him.

'You kept it because it was hers.'

'Yes.'

At least he was honest.

We crossed the room together.

For the first time, Adrian carefully examined the bear's left leg.

A hidden seam ran along the inside.

'Knife,' he said.

I handed him one from the kitchen.

Slowly, he cut through the stitching.

Cotton spilled out.

Then something hard appeared.

A small metal drive.

No larger than a thumb.

We stared at it.

Six years of secrets.

Six years of death.

Six years of obsession.

All hidden inside a teddy bear.

'Let's see what's on it.'

Within minutes, Adrian connected the drive to his laptop.

Hundreds of files appeared.

Bank statements.

Contracts.

Emails.

Photographs.

Then we found a folder labeled:

'Project Nightfall.'

Adrian opened it.

My blood turned cold.

The first image showed Marcus Monroe shaking hands with a government official.

The second showed cash transfers worth millions.

The third contained a document authorizing payments to hired killers.

We continued scrolling.

Each file was worse than the last.

'This could destroy dozens of people,' I whispered.

'Exactly.'

'Which means they're never going to let us leave with it.'

Adrian didn't answer.

Because we both knew I was right.

A loud crash echoed downstairs.

We froze.

Another crash followed.

Then footsteps.

Inside the house.

'They got in.'

Adrian closed the laptop immediately.

'How?'

'The backup entrance.'

'That's bad, right?'

'Very.'

The footsteps grew louder.

Closer.

Someone was searching room by room.

I could hear doors opening.

Furniture moving.

Voices.

'Split up and find the bear.'

My heart pounded.

'What do we do?'

'We leave.'

'Through a house full of armed men?'

'It's still better than staying.'

Adrian grabbed the drive and slipped it into his pocket.

Then he picked up the teddy bear.

'You're bringing that too?'

'It got us into this mess.'

'Fair point.'

A faint smile touched his face.

Strangely, it made me feel calmer.

We moved quietly toward a hidden staircase concealed behind a bookshelf.

'You have secret passages too?'

'Safe house.'

'I really need to stop being surprised by that answer.'

The passage led downward.

Dark.

Narrow.

Dusty.

We hurried through it.

Behind us, voices echoed.

Someone had entered the study.

'They're gone!'

'Find them!'

My pulse raced faster.

The tunnel eventually opened into an underground garage.

One vehicle waited there.

A black SUV.

'Please tell me it works.'

'It works.'

'Good.'

We climbed inside.

Adrian started the engine.

For one hopeful second, I thought we might actually escape.

Then headlights appeared at the tunnel entrance.

Several vehicles.

Blocking the exit.

Adrian cursed under his breath.

'What now?'

His eyes narrowed.

Then he looked at me.

For the first time all night, I saw genuine determination.

'Now we stop running.'

The men outside stepped from their vehicles.

Weapons drawn.

Waiting.

And standing among them was a face from the files.

Marcus Monroe.

The man everyone believed had gotten away with murder.

The man who had spent six years hunting a teddy bear.

And now he was smiling directly at us.