Chapter 4 - The Burner Phone
Before Elena could process the revelation of the locker code, a sharp, vibrating buzz broke the silence in the hospital room.
Elena frowned, looking at her own duty phone, but the screen was dark. The buzzing was coming from Maya’s small, battered Elsa backpack resting on the chair in the corner.
Elena walked over, unzipped the front pocket, and pulled out a cheap, prepaid burner phone. It was completely black, with no contacts saved. The screen flashed relentlessly: BLOCKED NUMBER.
Maya gasped, pulling the hospital blanket up to her chin. “Mom gave me that phone. She said only one person would ever call it if she went missing.”
Elena locked eyes with the terrified girl, gave her a reassuring nod, and pressed the green answer button. She lifted the phone to her ear but didn't say a word, controlling her breathing, waiting for the caller to speak first.
“Maya?” a deep, gravelly voice echoed through the speaker. The tone was smooth, chillingly calm, and entirely devoid of panic. “It’s Daddy. I saw the news. I know you and Sam are with the police.”
Elena kept her mouth shut, her jaw clenched tight.
“I know the police officer is listening,” the man continued, a dark amusement lacing his words. “Officer Rostova, isn't it? My men got your badge number outside the apartment. Let me make this very simple for you. My name is Marcus Thorne. My wife took something that belongs to me. A digital ledger.”
Elena’s blood ran cold. Marcus Thorne wasn't just a local thug. He was the head of a massive, ruthless logistics syndicate operating out of the South Side docks. The man practically owned half the city’s underground imports.
“You have until dawn, Rostova,” Thorne said smoothly. “You figure out where she hid my drive, and you bring it to me. If you involve your captain, if you call the feds, or if you stall, Sarah Jennings dies slowly on camera. And then, I’ll send my men to that hospital for my children.”
May you like
Click. The line went dead.
Elena lowered the phone. She had the location of the drive. She had the villain. But she was entirely on her own. If Thorne was as powerful as his reputation suggested, bringing this to her precinct captain would only ensure the evidence disappeared, and Sarah along with it.
