Chapter 9 - Inside Noah’s Backpack
I had searched that backpack repeatedly for food.
There was nothing unusual.
Grant told me to inspect the plastic support panel inside the back padding.
I didn’t trust him.
But I checked.
There was a hidden seam.
Inside:
A microSD card.
Noah stared at it.
“Mom put that there?”
Apparently.
Grant wanted it.
Melissa wanted me to destroy it.
I wanted answers.
Then Grant tried the door.
I barricaded it.
“Daniel!”
“Back away!”
“This is bigger than your family!”
That sentence made my decision easy.
I wasn’t giving him anything.
We escaped through a rear window.
Melissa led us along an old trail.
Grant followed.
We moved through darkness.
Noah stumbled repeatedly.
Eventually we reached an abandoned ranger structure.
There was an old laptop inside.
No internet.
But it worked.
I inserted Claire’s card.
Folders appeared.
Invoices.
Bank transfers.
Audio recordings.
Photographs.
Then one video.
Claire.
Recorded six days before her death.
She looked exhausted.
“If Daniel is watching this, something went wrong.”
My chest tightened.
Noah whispered:
“Mom.”
Claire continued:
“Richard knows I found the accounts.”
My father.
“He says he's protecting the family.”
Then she looked directly into the camera.
“But Daniel, the money isn't the worst thing I found.”
The video suddenly corrupted.
Frozen frame.
Audio gone.
We tried again.
Nothing.
Then another file appeared.
A photograph.
My father standing beside Grant.
And between them was Troy.
May you like
Melissa’s husband.
All three smiling.
