Chapter 9
Nobody let me go alone.
This time, I didn’t argue.
My mother had died on an old county road forty miles north of the city.
The crash happened near an abandoned service station.
The road had changed since then.
A guardrail had been added.
Trees had grown.
But I remembered the photographs from the police report.
I remembered my father refusing to drive that direction for years.
Detective Reed arranged surveillance.
Lily stayed with Chloe and Noah.
Before I left, Chloe grabbed my wrist.
“Mom.”
“Yes?”
“Mr. Sanders knew Grandpa.”
“I know.”
“Does that mean Grandpa was bad too?”
The question hurt.
“No.”
“How do you know?”
I hesitated.
Because after everything we had learned, certainty felt dangerous.
“I know your grandfather loved us.”
“So did Dad.”
I had no answer.
Chloe looked down.
“That’s what scares me.”
I hugged her.
“Love isn’t just what someone says.”
She listened.
“It’s what they protect.”
Her eyes filled.
“Dad only protected himself.”
“Yes.”
I kissed her forehead.
Then I left.
At 11:40 p.m., I stood beside the new guardrail.
Cold wind moved through the trees.
The abandoned gas station sat dark across the road.
One light suddenly appeared inside.
I crossed.
Reed and his team remained hidden.
My phone was recording.
No visible wire this time.
I pushed open the service station door.
Mr. Sanders stood behind the counter.
He looked weak.
Bandage around his forehead.
One arm in a sling.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
“You told me to.”
“I told you to come alone.”
“I am.”
He studied me.
“Police?”
“No.”
He almost smiled.
“You were never a good liar.”
“Neither were you.”
That smile disappeared.
“What does Rebecca’s second tape say?”
Sanders looked toward the windows.
“Michael is coming.”
My heart pounded.
“You’re helping him.”
“No.”
“You hid information from me for eleven years.”
“To keep you alive.”
“That excuse is getting old.”
He lowered his head.
“Your father said the same thing.”
“Did you betray him?”
“No.”
“Did you betray my mother?”
His silence answered.
My stomach dropped.
“You knew her.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I represented the shelter.”
My mother’s volunteer organization.
“Rebecca came to you.”
“Yes.”
“With evidence?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do?”
Sanders looked devastated.
“I told her to wait.”
“For what?”
“I wanted more proof.”
“Why?”
“Because accusing Michael Trent meant accusing people with powerful connections.”
“So you sent her home.”
“No.”
“She died.”
“I know.”
“You told her to wait, and she died.”
He closed his eyes.
“Sarah never forgave me.”
“My mother knew?”
“She knew I delayed.”
“And then she died too.”
His face tightened.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
The words landed like a gunshot.
“What did you say?”
Sanders looked up.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What wasn’t supposed to happen?”
“Emily—”
“Did you know someone was going to hurt her?”
“No.”
“Did you?”
“I knew Michael was desperate.”
“That is not an answer.”
He walked from behind the counter.
“I thought he would threaten her.”
“You thought?”
“I thought he wanted the evidence.”
“And you did nothing.”
“I warned your father.”
“Before the crash?”
Sanders said nothing.
My chest tightened.
“You knew.”
“Your father knew too.”
I stared.
“No.”
“Sarah refused protection.”
“You’re lying.”
“She believed Michael would never attack her in public.”
“My mother died alone on this road.”
“I know.”
“Where were you?”
Sanders looked toward the floor.
“Following her.”
Everything inside me went still.
“You saw it?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
His voice broke.
“A truck forced her toward the shoulder.”
“Who was driving?”
“I couldn’t see.”
“Michael?”
“I don’t know.”
“Miranda?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why didn’t you tell police?”
“Because Michael had evidence against me.”
“What evidence?”
Sanders looked ashamed.
“I moved money for Rebecca.”
“What?”
“She was trying to escape. I helped her transfer money from a joint account.”
“That’s not a crime.”
“It was done illegally.”
“How?”
“I falsified authorization.”
He swallowed.
“Michael knew.”
“So you protected yourself.”
“Yes.”
At least he finally said it.
“My mother died because you were afraid of losing your license?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No!”
His voice cracked.
“I spent the next twenty years trying to make up for it.”
“You can’t.”
“I know.”
The door behind me opened.
I spun around.
Jason stood there.
He looked exhausted.
Mud stained his clothes.
A cut crossed his cheek.
But his eyes were calm.
“Family reunion.”
Sanders stepped backward.
“You weren’t supposed to come yet.”
I looked at Sanders.
“So you were helping him.”
“No.”
Jason laughed.
“He’s always helping everyone.”
“Shut up,” Sanders said.
Jason walked inside.
“Where’s the tape?”
Sanders reached into his coat.
He removed a cassette.
Jason’s eyes locked on it.
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
Jason sighed.
“David.”
“No more.”
“After everything we survived?”
Sanders stared at him.
“I didn’t survive. I just kept breathing.”
Jason’s face hardened.
“Give me the tape.”
Sanders looked at me.
Then threw it.
I caught it.
Jason lunged.
The station exploded into movement.
I ran behind a display shelf.
Jason grabbed my coat.
I pulled free.
Sanders tackled him from the side.
They crashed into a table.
“Go!” Sanders shouted.
I ran toward the door.
Jason kicked Sanders away.
Then he drew a small pistol.
“Stop!”
I froze.
Outside, Reed’s team heard him.
I knew they were moving.
Jason pointed the gun toward me.
“Tape.”
I held it tightly.
“What’s on it?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“Then why are you willing to kill me for it?”
“Because you were never supposed to be part of this.”
I laughed.
“You married me.”
“For the money.”
“At first.”
The answer surprised me.
“At first?”
His face shifted.
For one second, I saw something almost human.
“I loved you.”
“No.”
“I did.”
“You don’t know what love is.”
His jaw tightened.
“I gave you eleven years.”
“You took eleven years.”
His hand shook.
“You think everything was fake?”
“Yes.”
“Chloe?”
“Don’t say her name.”
“She’s my daughter.”
“She’s terrified of you.”
His face changed.
“No.”
“She recorded you because she was afraid.”
“She’s a child.”
“She knows exactly who you are.”
“No.”
“And Noah?”
His eyes flickered.
“That was an accident.”
“You threw him.”
“He wouldn’t stop.”
“You nearly killed him.”
“I was angry.”
“You planned his death before you lost your temper.”
His face became cold again.
“That was Miranda.”
“But you agreed.”
Silence.
Sanders suddenly moved.
Jason pointed the gun at him.
A shot cracked.
I screamed.
Sanders fell.
Police rushed through the door.
Jason fired once toward the ceiling.
Officers shouted.
“Drop the weapon!”
He grabbed me.
Gun against my side.
Reed stood near the entrance.
“Michael.”
Jason breathed hard.
“You know how this goes.”
“Yes.”
“Back up.”
“You’re not leaving.”
Jason dragged me toward a rear doorway.
Then Sanders spoke from the floor.
“Emily.”
He was alive.
Blood spread across his shoulder.
He pointed weakly toward the cassette in my hand.
“Play it.”
Jason screamed.
“Shut up!”
I looked at the old player sitting on a dusty counter.
Someone had placed it there.
Sanders.
He had planned this.
I shoved the tape into the player.
Jason pulled me back.
Too late.
Rebecca’s voice filled the station.
“If you’re hearing this, I’m probably dead.”
Jason froze.
Then another voice spoke.
A man.
My father.
“I’m here, Rebecca.”
I stopped breathing.
Rebecca continued.
“Michael thinks Miranda is the only person helping him.”
Jason’s face went pale.
“She isn’t.”
A long pause.
“There is someone inside Hollis Development who controls every account.”
Reed’s eyes narrowed.
Rebecca said the name.
“Grant Holloway.”
Jason whispered, “No.”
I knew the name.
Everyone in the city did.
Grant Holloway.
Founder of Hollis Development.
Billionaire.
Philanthropist.
Jason’s employer.
Rebecca’s voice continued.
“Michael doesn’t understand that Grant owns him.”
Jason looked shattered.
The tape went on.
“If Michael ever tries to leave, Grant will kill him too.”
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Then Jason slowly lowered the gun.
Reed stepped forward.
Jason laughed.
A strange, empty sound.
“You think you won?”
Reed took the weapon from him.
Jason looked at me.
“You have no idea what you just started.”
Officers handcuffed him.
As they led him away, he looked over his shoulder.
May you like
“Grant knows where your children are.”
My blood turned to ice.
