Chapter 6: The Name Hidden in the Watch
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The black car disappeared into the rain.
The sound of its engine faded into the city noise.
But Malik couldn’t stop staring at the empty road.
“The person my father trusted most?””
His voice was quiet.
Mrs. Baxter looked at him.
“Yes.””
“Who?””
She didn’t answer.
That made Malik’s frustration explode.
“Why does everyone do that?””
Everyone looked at him.
“Why does everyone know things and then stop right before telling me?””
His voice cracked.
“My father. My mom. You. Everybody.””
Denise stepped closer.
“Malik…”
“No.””
He shook his head.
“I’m tired of being protected from the truth.””
The rain dripped from his hair.
His hands curled into fists.
“I’m thirteen. I’m not five.””
Mrs. Baxter looked at him for a long moment.
Then she nodded.
“You’re right.””
Malik didn’t expect that.
She looked at Denise.
“He deserves to know.””
Denise looked away.
“Are you sure?””
“No,” Mrs. Baxter admitted.
The honesty surprised him.
“But I’m more afraid of what happens if he doesn’t.””
They moved to a small coffee shop two blocks away.
It was almost empty.
Only an elderly man reading a newspaper sat near the window.
The three of them chose the back table.
Malik placed the wooden box beside him.
He noticed Mrs. Baxter kept looking at the door.
Always watching.
Always waiting.
Like danger could walk in at any second.
“So,” Malik said.
Mrs. Baxter looked at him.
“Who did my dad trust?””
She took a deep breath.
“Ethan Brooks.””
Malik frowned.
The name felt familiar.
“He’s the journalist?””
“Yes.””
“The one who was on the phone?””
Mrs. Baxter nodded.
“Your father believed Ethan was the only person who could tell the story if something happened to him.””
Malik looked confused.
“But you said Ethan investigated after Dad disappeared.””
“He did.””
“Then why would Dad trust him?””
“Because Daniel trusted him before that.””
Mrs. Baxter folded her hands.
“Your father and Ethan worked together before I ever knew either of them.””
“Doing what?””
“Finding information.””
“About Vale Technologies?””
“Yes.””
Malik looked at the folder.
“So Ethan has more evidence?””
“He had more.””
“Had?””
Mrs. Baxter looked down.
“That’s the problem.””
“What happened to him?””
“We don’t know.””
Malik remembered the phone call.
The crash.
The silence.
“You think someone got to him?””
“I think someone has been cleaning up loose ends for years.””
A cold feeling moved through Malik.
“Loose ends?””
Mrs. Baxter looked directly at him.
“People who knew the truth.””
The coffee shop suddenly felt smaller.
Malik looked around.
Every stranger seemed suspicious.
Every sound seemed louder.
“What was my dad trying to expose?””
Mrs. Baxter hesitated.
Then she opened the black folder.
She removed a document.
“This.””
Malik took it.
The page was old.
Yellow around the edges.
At the top was a title.
*Project Sentinel.*
“What is this?””
“Something Marcus Vale created.””
“A project?””
“Yes.””
“For what?””
Mrs. Baxter looked uncomfortable.
“At first, it was supposed to be a security system.””
Malik read the page.
The words were technical.
Data collection.
Behavior patterns.
Risk assessment.
“What does that mean?””
“It means Marcus wanted to predict people.””
“Predict?””
“Who they were. What they might do. What decisions they might make.””
Malik frowned.
“That sounds impossible.””
“It wasn’t.””
Mrs. Baxter pointed at the documents.
“Your father discovered they weren’t just studying information from computers.””
Malik looked up.
“What else?””
“People.””
A chill moved through him.
“They were collecting private information.””
“Yes.””
“About everyone?””
“Not everyone.””
She paused.
“People they considered important.””
“Why?””
“Control.””
The word hung in the air.
Malik looked at the document again.
“So my dad found this.””
“Yes.””
“And Marcus tried to stop him.””
“Yes.””
“But why disappear him?””
Mrs. Baxter looked at Denise.
Denise looked down.
Finally, Mrs. Baxter answered.
“Because Daniel found the final piece.””
“What piece?””
“A list.””
“What list?””
“Names.””
Malik waited.
“Names of everyone involved.””
The room went quiet.
“Where is it?””
Mrs. Baxter shook her head.
“We never found it.””
“But my dad hid the box.””
“Yes.””
“And the key?””
“Missing.””
Malik remembered the watch.
The stopped time.
11:47.
“Maybe the watch wasn’t just a watch.””
Mrs. Baxter looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
“The time.””
“What about it?””
“It stopped at 11:47.””
Her expression changed.
Slowly.
Like she was remembering something.
“Daniel used numbers.””
Malik frowned.
“What?””
“He never wrote passwords directly.””
“Why?””
“Because he knew people might find them.””
Denise suddenly spoke.
“Wait.””
Everyone looked at her.
She stood quickly.
“The watch.””
Malik looked at her.
“What?””
“Your father gave me something years ago.””
“What?””
She looked through her purse.
“I thought it was just a memory.””
She pulled out an old photograph.
The picture showed Malik as a child.
Maybe six years old.
His father was holding him.
Both of them were smiling.
But Malik noticed something else.
His father was wearing the same watch.
His mother pointed.
“Look.””
She touched the photograph.
“Behind them.””
Malik leaned closer.
In the background was a small bookshelf.
On it was a framed picture.
A picture of a building.
With a number underneath.
11-47.
Malik stared.
“What is that?””
Mrs. Baxter looked shocked.
“That’s not a time.””
“What is it?””
“It’s a location.””
Malik’s heart raced.
“A location where?””
Before she could answer, the coffee shop door opened.
Everyone turned.
A man walked in.
Older.
Wearing a dark jacket.
Malik immediately recognized him.
Not from the picture.
From somewhere else.
The school hallway.
The stranger who had been watching.
Mrs. Baxter stood.
“Malik.””
“What?””
“Don’t move.””
The man looked around the room.
Then his eyes landed on them.
He smiled.
Not a friendly smile.
A familiar one.
Like he already knew them.
Denise whispered:
“Who is that?””
Mrs. Baxter’s face went pale.
“Someone who should not have found us.””
The man walked closer.
Slowly.
“Denise Carter.””
Nobody answered.
He stopped beside their table.
“I was hoping we could talk.””
Mrs. Baxter stepped between him and Malik.
“You need to leave.””
The man looked at her.
“Still protecting Daniel’s family?””
Malik’s eyes narrowed.
“Who are you?””
The man ignored him.
He looked at the wooden box.
Then smiled.
“So he really left it behind.””
Malik grabbed the box.
The man noticed.
“That belongs to Marcus Vale.””
“No,” Malik said.
The man looked amused.
“You sound exactly like your father.””
The words made Malik freeze.
“Did you know him?””
The man’s smile faded.
“I knew Daniel better than most.””
“Who are you?””
The man reached into his coat.
Mrs. Baxter immediately moved.
“Don’t.””
He stopped.
Slowly removed his hand.
“I’m not here to hurt anyone.””
“Then why are you here?””
He looked at Malik.
“Because your father left you something.””
Malik’s heart jumped.
“What?””
The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small envelope.
Old.
Folded.
Worn.
Malik stared.
“That was with the watch.””
Mrs. Baxter whispered.
The man nodded.
“Yes.””
Malik stepped forward.
“How did you get it?””
The man looked at him.
“Because I was there when your father hid it.””
The room went silent.
Malik felt like he couldn’t breathe.
“You were there?””
“Yes.””
“The night he disappeared?””
The man didn’t answer.
That was enough.
Malik looked at Mrs. Baxter.
She looked terrified.
Not because of the man.
Because of what he represented.
“Who are you?”” Malik asked again.
This time, the man answered.
“My name is Victor Hale.””
He placed the envelope on the table.
“And I was your father’s closest friend.””
Malik stared at the envelope.
“What’s inside?””
Victor looked toward the window.
Then quietly said:
“The truth about why Daniel Carter never came home.””
Malik reached for it.
But before his fingers touched the envelope, Victor grabbed his wrist.
“Wait.””
Malik looked at him.
Victor’s voice dropped.
“Before you open that, you need to understand one thing.””
“What?””
Victor looked at Denise.
Then Mrs. Baxter.
Then back at Malik.
“Your father wasn’t running from Marcus Vale.””
A pause.
“He was running from someone much closer.””
Malik slowly pulled his hand back.
“Who?””
Victor looked toward the door.
Like he was afraid someone might hear.
Then he whispered:
“The person who helped him disappear.””
The coffee shop lights flickered.
And on the table between them, Malik noticed something written on the back of the envelope.
A name.
A name he recognized.
May you like
A name that made his mother gasp.
*Denise Carter.*
