My heart was thudding as I stared at the shattered pot. At first, I only noticed the soil scattered across the floor and the cactus—General—lying awkwardly on its side, its thick roots exposed. But then something glinted.

Nestled within the clump of dirt, hidden beneath the base of the cactus, was a small, sealed plastic bag. My hands trembled as I reached for it, brushing aside the soil. The bag was tightly wrapped with layers of tape, like someone desperately wanted to keep it hidden.

I unwrapped it. Inside was a flash drive and a folded piece of yellowed paper, creased and worn as if someone had handled it many times before.

The note read:

“If you’re reading this, things have gone wrong. Don’t trust anyone—not even me. Protect this. Watch what’s on the drive. Burn the rest.”

My pulse spiked. I looked at the drive in my hand like it was a snake. A million thoughts raced through my mind. Was this a prank? Some strange project of John’s? He never talked about secrets, conspiracies, or… anything remotely close to this.

Still stunned, I grabbed my laptop and plugged the drive in.

There were three files. One was labeled “CONFESSION.mp4.” The other two were encrypted documents.

I opened the video.

There was John. My John. Sitting in a dimly lit room, looking straight at the camera. His eyes were sunken, his face pale.

“If something happens to me… don’t let them find the drive. Don’t let them know I was onto them. It started as a job. Just tech consulting. But I found something. I couldn’t unsee it. There’s a network—people we know—feeding information to a foreign agency. Names. Habits. Movements. Everything. I’ve hidden what I found. They can’t trace it to me unless they find this. If I disappear… you’ll know why.”

My mouth went dry. This wasn’t a joke. This wasn’t a game. My husband was involved in something I couldn’t begin to understand.

I looked down at the cactus. “General.” Now I saw it for what it really was—not a plant John loved, but a vault. A guard.

And now, I was in the middle of something terrifying.

I didn’t hear the front door open. But I did hear the floorboard creak behind me. Slowly.

I turned, and my blood froze.

It wasn’t John.

And whoever it was… knew exactly what I had found.