Chapter 18 - THE MAN OUTSIDE The next morning, Richard received an anonymous envelope.
No return address.
Inside was a single photograph.
It showed the Astor Estate.
Taken from outside the gates.
On the back were six words:
You found the boy. Now find me.
Richard stared at it.
Anna stood across the office.
"What is it?"
He handed her the photograph.
Her expression changed.
"Someone was watching the house."
Richard looked through the window.
The estate appeared peaceful.
Children from a local charity were playing in the garden.
Leo was laughing.
Everything looked normal.
But Richard knew better now.
He had spent his life believing power meant controlling the world.
He had learned the truth.
Power was knowing who was hiding in the shadows.
Richard turned toward Anna.
"We don't tell Leo."
Anna frowned.
"Why?"
"Because he deserves to be a child."
Neither of them noticed the figure standing beyond the garden wall.
A man in a dark coat.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
"Yes."
A pause.
"The boy is alive."
Another pause.
May you like
The man's expression hardened.
"Then we move tonight."
