Chapter 9: The Body They Buried
Nathan didn't speak for nearly a minute.
Then he whispered, "I identified my father.""
My mother nodded slowly.
"I know.""
"I saw his face.""
"I know, Nathan.""
"How could it not have been him?""
His voice cracked on the last word.
My mother reached for his hand, but he stepped away from the bed.
"I stood beside that coffin," he said.
"I touched his face. I watched them lower him into the ground.""
I had never seen Nathan cry like that.
He turned toward the window, pressing both hands against the glass.
"If my father was alive, why didn't he come home?""
Mom looked down at the envelope.
"I don't know whether he was alive. James said there had been confusion at the lake. He believed someone had deliberately misidentified a body.""
"Then why didn't he go to the police?""
"He said he was afraid. He told me that someone had paid him to remain silent, and he was terrified that if he spoke, his family would be hurt.""
Nathan turned back.
"Did he say who paid him?""
Mom shook her head.
"He wouldn't tell me. He only gave me this photograph and told me to keep it somewhere safe.""
I picked up the photograph.
Daniel Cross was standing beside a woman near a roadside diner. The picture was grainy, but the date on the back was unmistakable.
Six months after his supposed death.
The woman wore a dark coat and sunglasses. Her face was turned away from the camera.
"Could this woman be Isabella?"" I asked.
Mom studied the image.
"I can't be certain.""
Nathan took the photograph.
"Where was this taken?""
"The address is in Franklin, Tennessee. James said Daniel had been seen there.""
Nathan immediately called Michael.
Within minutes, the attorney answered.
"Tell me you've found something.""
Nathan explained the photograph, the date, and my mother's account of James Miller's visit.
Michael was silent for a moment.
Then he said, "I need to tell you something about the original investigation.""
Nathan's shoulders stiffened.
"What?""
"The police found two sets of keys at the lake. One belonged to your father. The other belonged to Daniel. But the vehicle registered to Daniel was never recovered.""
"Why wasn't that in the report?""
"It was. The detail was considered irrelevant because investigators believed both men had arrived in Richard's vehicle.""
Nathan looked at the photograph again.
"What if Daniel drove away?""
"Then the official timeline would need to be reassessed.""
I took the phone from Nathan.
"Michael, the lake house is connected to the message you found. Someone plans to retrieve documents there tonight.""
"I know. The police have been notified. They are sending officers to secure the property.""
"Can we go with them?""
"No," Michael replied firmly.
"You are not to approach the property. If someone is attempting to destroy evidence, we need the police to arrive without warning.""
Nathan reluctantly agreed.
After the call ended, he sat beside my mother.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"I wish I had known.""
Mom squeezed his hand.
"You were a child when the truth was hidden from you. None of this is your fault.""
I watched them together and thought about the strange cruelty of the evening.
On the morning of our wedding, I had believed my greatest worry was whether my mother would have enough energy to dance with me.
Now we were discussing a possible murder, a missing man, and a body that might not have belonged to my husband's father.
Then my phone rang.
The caller ID displayed Lauren's name.
I answered immediately.
"Where are you?""
Her voice shook.
"At the hotel. Emily, I need you to listen.""
"Are you safe?""
"I think so. Isabella called me after you left. She told me to go to the lake house and retrieve something.""
My heart began pounding.
"What?""
"She said there was a red folder in the study. She told me it contained documents that could clear her name.""
"Lauren, don't go there.""
"I haven't gone inside yet.""
"Then leave. Call the police.""
She took a shaky breath.
"Emily, I think someone is already there.""
I stood.
"Who?""
"I don't know. There's a car outside, and the lights are on in the house.""
Nathan had heard enough to understand.
He reached for his jacket.
"Lauren, stay where you are," he said loudly.
"The police are on their way.""
But my sister was crying now.
"There's something else. Isabella told me if I didn't bring her the folder, she'd tell everyone what happened to Dad.""
My stomach dropped.
"What does Dad have to do with this?""
Lauren went silent.
Then she whispered, "Emily, I found something in Isabella's desk last week. It was an old insurance policy.""
I gripped the phone.
"What insurance policy?""
"One in Dad's name. It was dated two months before he died.""
My father's death had been an accident. A construction site collapse when I was fourteen. At least, that was what we had always been told.
"Why would Isabella have an insurance policy on our father?""
"I don't know. But there was a handwritten note attached to it.""
"What did it say?""
Lauren's breathing became ragged.
"It said the payment would be released once both families had been silenced.""
I felt the room spin.
Nathan took the phone from my hand.
"Lauren, listen to me. Don't touch anything. Don't go into the house. Tell the police exactly where you are.""
"I can't.""
"Why not?""
"Because someone just came out of the house.""
A door slammed on her end of the call.
Then Lauren screamed.
The line went dead.
Nathan immediately called the police and gave them the location. Michael contacted the officers already heading toward the lake house and warned them about the possible threat.
My mother began praying under her breath.
I stood frozen, still holding the phone.
Nathan wrapped his arms around me.
"We'll find her," he whispered.
But before either of us could move, my phone vibrated again.
A new message had arrived from Lauren's number.
It contained a photograph of a red folder lying on a wooden desk.
Beneath it were six words.
*Your father was never supposed to die.*
May you like
And attached to the message was a second photograph.
A picture of my father standing alive outside the lake house, dated two days after the construction accident that supposedly killed him.
