Chapter 104 Chapter 104: Next Move

Chapter 104 Chapter 104: Next Move

GARRISON’S POV

I saw Martha’s face change the second she opened the message. Her fingers tightened around the phone and the color drained from her cheeks as she stared at the screen. I moved from the couch and took the phone from her hand before she could scroll further.

The text sat clear on the display.

“You should not have left the hospital so soon. The next move is already planned.”

I locked the screen and set the phone on the coffee table face down. My jaw clenched as I looked at her. “Unknown number. Short and direct. Someone tracked the discharge.”

Martha pulled the blue blanket higher around her legs and kept her feet elevated on the pillows I had stacked. “They knew we left. The timing is too clean.”

I stood and walked to the security panel by the front door. The system showed all zones green yet I armed the perimeter again and added the secondary outdoor cameras to the live feed on my phone. The yard cameras picked up the usual empty driveway and the closed gate. Nothing moved beyond the fence line.

I returned to the living room and sat on the edge of the coffee table so I faced her directly. “I am calling Elias right now. He needs the number and the exact wording.”

She nodded once and watched as I dialed. The call connected and I put it on speaker so she could hear every word.

“Elias, someone sent Martha a text the moment we got home. Unknown number. It reads that she should not have left the hospital so soon and that the next move is already planned. Trace it. I want the origin and any linked devices.”

Elias answered without delay. “Send me the screenshot and the number. I will run it through the carrier contacts we have and cross-check against Henry’s known associates and Violet’s side. Stay inside and keep the system armed. I will call back the second I have anything solid.”

I ended the call and forwarded the screenshot immediately. Martha shifted under the blanket and the small curve of her stomach showed as the fabric settled. The pregnancy made every threat land harder and the sight of her protective hand resting there kept my focus sharp.

I walked through the ground floor and checked every window latch again. The living room curtains stayed open as she had requested yet I positioned myself so I could see both the yard and the front approach at the same time. The house felt solid around us but the message had already changed the air.

Martha spoke from the couch. “They waited until we were out of the hospital to send it. Inside there were too many people and cameras. Here it feels personal.”

I returned to her side and sat on the couch this time. “The house is locked down. Extra cameras are live and the gate stays closed. No one gets near the door without the system logging it.”

She reached for the glass of water on the side table and drank. The vitamins bottle sat next to it and the ordinary objects of home looked different under the weight of the text. I took the empty glass and refilled it in the kitchen before setting it back within her reach.

My phone buzzed with a reply from Elias. I opened it and read the update out loud.

“Carrier shows the number is a prepaid line activated this morning. No name on the account. Payment was cash at a convenience store across town. Camera footage from the store is being pulled. Preliminary look shows a figure in a dark hoodie and cap. Face is obscured. Working on better angles.”

Martha listened and her fingers twisted the edge of the blanket. “Prepaid and cash. They planned the distance.”

I set the phone down and stood again. The restlessness pushed me to the kitchen where I checked the back door lock a second time and then returned. The yard stayed empty through the open curtains and the late afternoon light stretched across the grass.

“I want the nursery door locked from the outside until we know more,” I said. “No one gets near that room.”

She agreed with a short nod. I went upstairs and secured the nursery door with the internal bolt we rarely used. The hallway stayed quiet as I came back down. Martha had shifted on the couch so her back rested more fully against the softer pillow and her feet remained elevated.

The phone rang this time. Elias again. I answered and kept it on speaker.

“The store camera caught a partial plate on the car that left right after the purchase,” Elias said. “It matches a rental registered under a shell company we have seen connected to Violet’s legal team before. Not enough for an arrest yet but the link is there. I am sending the plate to the detectives on Henry’s case so they can add it to the surveillance.”

I paced the length of the living room while I listened. “Keep the pressure on. Any other movement from that rental and I want to know immediately.”

“Understood. Stay visible on the cameras so we have continuous record. I will update when the better angles come in.”

I ended the call and stopped in front of the open curtains. The street beyond the gate looked ordinary. A single car passed and continued without slowing. Martha watched me from the couch and the tension in her shoulders showed in the way she held the blanket.

“They are using the same network that tried the hospital access,” she said. “Different method but the same hands.”

I turned back to her and sat again. “Then we cut the hands off one by one. The prepaid line is already flagged. The rental plate is flagged. Every next step they take gets recorded.”

She reached for the vitamins bottle and turned it in her hands without opening it. The small action gave her something to focus on while the house stayed quiet around us. I checked the live feed on my phone once more. All cameras showed clear zones and no motion alerts.

A soft chime sounded from the security panel. I crossed the room in three strides and looked at the display. The front gate camera had triggered. A dark sedan sat just outside the gate with its headlights off. The driver stayed behind the wheel and made no move to exit or press the intercom.

I opened the camera app and zoomed on the plate. It matched the partial from the convenience store rental.

Martha sat up straighter on the couch and the blanket slipped from her legs. “Who is at the gate?”

I kept my eyes on the feed as the sedan’s driver door opened and a figure in a dark hoodie stepped out.