Chapter 4 - THE LOCKER
That night, Mariana waited until Lucas fell asleep.
She did not trust herself to sleep beside him.
She lay perfectly still for nearly an hour, listening to his breathing.
Then she quietly got out of bed.
Chloe was already awake.
The child had been waiting.
“Mommy?”
“Get dressed.”
“Where are we going?”
“To find something.”
“What?”
“The truth.”
They left through the back door.
Daniel was waiting in a parked car across the street.
When Mariana climbed inside, he looked at Chloe.
“You sure?”
Mariana nodded.
“No more running.”
They drove downtown.
Locker 317 was inside a storage facility that had been closed for renovation.
Daniel had obtained temporary access through an old contact.
The hallway smelled of dust and concrete.
Mariana's hands shook as she inserted the key.
Click.
The lock opened.
Inside was a cardboard box.
A child's suitcase.
And a black metal case.
Mariana opened the suitcase first.
Inside were Chloe's medical records.
Photographs.
Hospital bracelets.
And a stuffed rabbit.
Chloe reached for it.
“Bunny.”
Mariana started crying.
It was Chloe's favorite toy.
She had believed it had been buried with her.
But then she found something else.
A video camera.
An old one.
Daniel checked the battery.
“It might still work.”
They connected it to a portable laptop.
The screen flickered.
Then an image appeared.
Lucas.
Sitting beside Chloe in a hospital room.
Mariana covered her mouth.
Chloe was bald from chemotherapy.
But alive.
Lucas was smiling.
Then he looked toward the camera.
“Mariana still believes Chloe is dying.”
Mariana's blood ran cold.
Lucas continued.
“The doctors are calling the remission temporary. They don't know what will happen.”
Another voice entered the recording.
Dr. Reeves.
“You cannot keep your wife uninformed.”
Lucas answered.
“She'll destroy herself if she knows.”
“That isn't your decision.”
“I have no choice.”
The video ended.
Mariana stared at the screen.
“What happened next?”
Daniel opened the black metal case.
Inside was a second drive.
He plugged it in.
Hundreds of files appeared.
Financial records.
Emails.
Medical reports.
Property documents.
And one folder titled:
MARIANA.
She opened it.
The first document was a psychiatric evaluation.
It had her name.
Her signature.
Her supposed diagnosis.
Daniel looked at the date.
“Mariana, this is impossible.”
“What?”
“This says you were diagnosed with severe delusional disorder before Chloe died.”
“I wasn't.”
“I know.”
The report had been created by a psychiatrist Mariana had never met.
Dr. Evelyn Hart.
Daniel searched the name.
Then he froze.
“She worked at the same private clinic Lucas used.”
Mariana felt sick.
“He was building a case against me.”
Daniel nodded.
“He wanted legal control over you.”
“Why?”
“Because if you were declared mentally unstable, he could manage your property.”
Mariana stared at the screen.
Everything clicked.
The hospital.
The funeral.
The urn.
The memories.
The isolation.
Lucas had not simply lied to her.
He had constructed an entire reality around her.
Then another file appeared.
A bank transfer.
Lucas had paid Dr. Hart.
$75,000.
Mariana's hands went numb.
“He paid her.”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“To create evidence.”
Chloe suddenly pointed at the screen.
“Mommy.”
Mariana looked.
There was another video.
It showed Chloe sitting on a bed.
She was older.
Healthy.
And she was speaking to the camera.
“Mommy, Daddy says you're sick.”
Mariana's heart broke.
Chloe continued.
“But I know you're not bad.”
She held up a drawing.
It showed three people.
A mother.
A father.
A little girl.
Then she whispered something.
“Mommy, if you ever see this, don't believe Daddy.”
Mariana began sobbing.
The video ended.
Daniel closed the laptop.
“We need to go to the police.”
Mariana nodded.
But before they could leave, Daniel's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at Mariana.
“Lucas knows.”
“How?”
“Someone followed us.”
The storage facility lights suddenly went out.
Chloe screamed.
Daniel grabbed Mariana's arm.
“Stay behind me.”
Footsteps echoed through the hallway.
One.
Two.
Three.
Someone was coming.
Then a man's voice called from the darkness.
“Mariana.”
Lucas.
She felt terror rise in her chest.
Daniel whispered, “Back door.”
They ran.
Mariana held Chloe tightly as Daniel forced open an emergency exit.
They escaped into the alley.
A black SUV sped away.
Lucas was gone.
But the message was clear.
May you like
He knew they had found the evidence.
And he would do anything to get it back.
