Chapter 3
I walked to the front window and pulled the curtain aside.
The street looked normal.
A neighbor was watering his lawn.
Two children rode bicycles near the corner.
Nothing seemed unusual.
But someone had just sent me a photograph of my home.
And that person claimed my sixteen-year-old stepdaughter owed him money.
I checked the timestamp.
2:48 p.m.
The photograph had been taken less than five minutes earlier.
My heart pounded.
"Nobody goes outside," I said.
Claire looked frightened.
"Marcus, what's happening?"
I showed her the message.
She covered her mouth.
"Oh my God."
Malik moved toward the window.
I stopped him.
"Stay back."
He looked at me.
"Dad, I'm not scared."
"I know. But you don't need to prove anything."
He stepped away.
I turned toward Maya.
"Who sent this?"
She stared at my phone.
Her face went completely pale.
"Is that the same person?" Claire asked.
Maya nodded.
I took a slow breath.
"Tell me his name."
She whispered, "Terrence."
"Terrence who?"
"Terrence Wallace."
I didn't recognize the name.
"How old is he?"
"Twenty-three."
Claire gasped.
"Twenty-three?"
Maya began crying.
"Mom, please."
I looked at her.
"How do you know him?"
She wiped her cheeks.
"Online."
I felt a knot forming in my stomach.
"What kind of online?"
"A gaming group."
Claire closed her eyes.
Maya continued.
"He said he could help me make money."
I pulled out a chair.
"Sit down."
She obeyed.
I sat across from her.
For the first time that afternoon, nobody was shouting.
But the silence felt even heavier.
"What did he ask you to do?"
Maya looked down.
"At first, nothing bad."
"Tell me."
"He said people bought and sold expensive sneakers online. He had a group where everyone helped each other find deals."
I nodded slowly.
"Then what?"
"He said I could earn money by connecting buyers and sellers."
"Did you?"
She nodded.
"For a little while."
"How much?"
"About three hundred dollars."
Claire stared at her.
"You never told me."
"I wanted to surprise you."
I watched Maya carefully.
Her hands shook.
She wasn't looking for an excuse anymore.
She was terrified.
"Keep going," I said.
She swallowed.
"Then Terrence said he had a bigger opportunity."
"What opportunity?"
"He wanted me to use my account to receive money from buyers."
My stomach tightened.
"Buyers of what?"
"Sneakers. Electronics. Stuff like that."
"And what happened?"
She began crying again.
"Some of the buyers said they never got their orders."
I closed my eyes.
"Did you receive their money?"
"Some of it."
"Where did it go?"
"Terrence told me to send it to him."
Claire sat down heavily.
"Oh, Maya."
My stepdaughter covered her face.
"I didn't know he was scamming people."
I leaned forward.
"How much money passed through your account?"
She whispered, "Almost twelve thousand dollars."
Nobody spoke.
Then Malik said quietly, "That's why you wanted five thousand?"
Maya nodded without looking at him.
"Terrence said I owed him for a payment that got reversed."
I frowned.
"What payment?"
"A buyer reported fraud. The money was taken back. Terrence said it was my fault."
I studied her face.
"Did he threaten you?"
She nodded.
"He said he knew my address."
Claire began crying.
"He threatened my baby."
I took her hand.
"Claire, we're going to deal with this."
Then I looked at Maya.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
She stared at her knees.
"Because I thought you'd be angry."
I sighed.
"We would have been concerned. But we would have helped you."
She shook her head.
"Terrence said if adults found out, I'd go to jail."
I felt a cold wave of anger.
An older man had convinced a frightened teenager that she couldn't ask her family for help.
But that didn't excuse what she had done to Malik.
Two things could be true.
Maya was being threatened.
And Maya had seriously harmed her stepbrother.
I needed to protect her without pretending the accusation was acceptable.
"Maya, look at me."
She raised her eyes.
"What you did to Malik was wrong."
She began crying harder.
"I know."
"You tried to use a terrible accusation to force him to give you money."
"I know."
"You have to take responsibility for that."
She nodded.
"I will."
I looked at Malik.
He stood beside the bookshelf.
His face was tight with pain.
I could tell he was struggling to feel anything for her.
And I didn't blame him.
Claire suddenly spoke.
"Marcus, maybe we should just pay the money."
I turned toward her.
"No."
She stared at me.
"Someone is threatening my daughter."
"Which is why we're contacting the police. Paying him doesn't guarantee he'll stop."
Claire looked toward the window.
"What if he comes here?"
"Then we make sure everyone is safe and let the authorities handle him."
I called the nonemergency police number and explained the situation.
They advised us to preserve the messages and report the threats.
Because the person might be nearby, they also sent officers to check the area.
I contacted our bank to secure the accounts potentially involved.
Then I asked Maya to show me her messages with Terrence.
She hesitated.
But eventually handed over her phone.
I read them carefully.
The early conversations sounded friendly.
Terrence complimented her intelligence.
He told her she was more mature than most teenagers.
He praised her for wanting financial independence.
Then the tone changed.
Once the money problems began, he became threatening.
"You owe me."
"Don't make me come looking for you."
"Your parents won't help when they learn what you did."
I felt sick.
Then I found a message that made my hands turn cold.
Terrence had written:
"Ask Malik for the money. His father trusts him. He can get it."
I stared at the screen.
"How does Terrence know Malik?"
Maya wiped her face.
"He saw him in one of my pictures."
"What pictures?"
"Family pictures."
I scrolled further.
Then I found another message.
It was from Maya to Terrence.
"I can't ask Malik. He'll tell Dad."
Terrence replied:
"Then make him afraid to say no."
I looked up.
My stepdaughter was trembling.
"Did Terrence tell you to accuse Malik?"
She looked away.
"Maya."
Her voice cracked.
"He said I needed leverage."
The room went silent.
Malik turned toward the stairs.
I called his name.
He stopped.
But he didn't look back.
"Son."
He shook his head.
"Not right now, Dad."
Then he walked upstairs.
I watched him disappear.
And I knew the danger from Terrence was only part of our problem.
Even if we stopped the threats, my son might never feel safe in his own home again.
That evening, two officers arrived.
They collected information about the threats and reviewed the messages we provided.
As they prepared to leave, one officer asked me a question.
"Mr. Bennett, has anyone else in the household communicated with Terrence Wallace?"
I frowned.
"Not that I know of."
The officer looked toward Maya.
She lowered her eyes.
Then he continued.
"We have reason to believe another family member may have been contacted."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Who?"
The officer glanced at his notes.
Then he said a name I hadn't expected.
"Mrs. Claire Bennett."
May you like
I turned slowly toward my wife.
And the look on her face told me this nightmare contained another secret.
