Chapter 5: The Truth Hidden In Ink
We did not return to the city.
Emmett took us to a safe location outside town, an old farmhouse surrounded by empty fields.
It was nothing like his mansion.
No marble floors.
No silent employees.
No expensive furniture.
Just wooden walls, a fireplace, and the smell of coffee.
It felt more like a home.
That somehow made me trust it less.
Because homes were where people hid their biggest secrets.
Cody sat at the kitchen table, spreading his index cards across the surface.
Hundreds of them.
I had seen those cards before.
Every day.
For years.
I thought they were drawings.
I thought they were just Cody being Cody.
I never imagined they were evidence.
Emmett stood across from him.
"How many?""
Cody didn't look up.
"How many what?""
"Cards.""
"Maybe four hundred.""
Emmett went silent.
I noticed.
"What?""
He looked at the cards.
"Your father knew you saw things other people ignored.""
Cody shrugged.
"He always said I noticed details.""
"He was right.""
Cody looked up sharply.
"You knew him?""
Emmett nodded.
"Not well.""
"Then why did he trust you?""
Emmett didn't answer immediately.
Finally, he said:
"Because Shawn knew the truth about me.""
I leaned against the counter.
"What truth?""
Emmett looked at me.
"That I wasn't the monster Malcolm told everyone I was.""
I wanted to believe that.
But wanting something didn't make it true.
"Cody," I said softly.
"Show us the cards.""
He hesitated.
Then he picked one.
A drawing of a restaurant.
People sitting at tables.
Nothing unusual.
Except one person.
A man standing near the kitchen door.
Cody pointed.
"My dad circled this one.""
I looked closer.
The man was blurry.
Barely noticeable.
"Who is he?""
"I don't know.""
Emmett took the card.
His expression changed.
"You do.""
The room became tense.
"Emmett?""
He stared at the drawing.
"That's Victor Hale.""
The name meant nothing to me.
But Cody reacted.
"You know him?""
"I know of him.""
"Who is he?""
Emmett placed the card down.
"Someone who works for people who don't want their names attached to anything.""
I frowned.
"A fixer?""
"Something like that.""
Cody grabbed another card.
This one showed a car.
A black sedan.
The license plate was drawn clearly.
"Wait.""
I took the card.
"Cody, when did you draw this?""
He thought.
"Two weeks before Dad died.""
"Why?""
"I saw the car outside our house.""
My stomach dropped.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"I thought it was nothing.""
"You saw a strange car outside our house and didn't tell me?""
Cody looked ashamed.
"I didn't want to scare you.""
That sentence broke something inside me.
Because he was still a child.
A child who had been carrying secrets because he thought protecting me was his job.
I reached across the table.
"You never have to protect me alone.""
His eyes turned red.
"I know.""
But I wasn't sure he believed it.
Emmett picked up the license plate drawing.
"He was watching Shawn.""
"Why?""
"Because Shawn found something.""
"Again with that answer.""
Emmett looked at me.
"Because I don't know everything.""
That honesty stopped me.
For years, I had lived around people who always had answers.
Patrick.
Malcolm.
The Bannons.
They lied smoothly.
Emmett admitted when he didn't know.
It was strange.
Almost comforting.
Almost.
Cody found another card.
This one was different.
No drawing.
Only writing.
*THE SECOND KEY IS WITH THE MAN WHO NEVER FORGOT.*
He placed it down.
"I thought it meant Dad.""
"Why?""
"Because he never forgot anything.""
I looked at Emmett.
He was staring at the card.
"What?""
His voice was quiet.
"Because I know what it means.""
Everyone froze.
"You do?""
Emmett nodded.
"The man who never forgot.""
He touched the card.
"That was something Shawn used to call me.""
Cody stood.
"Then you have the key?""
"No.""
"Then what?""
Emmett looked toward the window.
"I have the first one.""
The room went silent.
My heart started pounding.
"What are you talking about?""
Emmett walked to an old cabinet near the fireplace.
He unlocked a hidden compartment.
Inside was a small metal box.
He brought it to the table.
Cody stared.
"How long have you had that?""
"Sixteen years.""
"Why?""
"Because Laura gave it to me.""
Cody stopped breathing.
"Before she died?""
Emmett nodded.
"She told me if anything happened to her, I should keep it hidden until Cody was old enough to understand.""
I stared.
"Why didn't you open it?""
"Because it wasn't mine.""
He looked at Cody.
"It belonged to you.""
Cody's hands trembled as he opened the box.
Inside was a small key.
And a folded piece of paper.
He unfolded it.
Everyone leaned closer.
The handwriting was faded.
But readable.
Cody's face changed as he read.
"What?""
He couldn't speak.
I took the paper.
At the top was one sentence.
*CODY, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOUR UNCLE HAS ALREADY STARTED THE WAR.*
My blood ran cold.
Below it was another line.
*DO NOT TRUST PATRICK.*
Cody stepped backward.
"No.""
I looked at him.
"Cody?""
He shook his head.
"No.""
Because beneath those words was one more sentence.
May you like
The one that destroyed everything we thought we knew.
*YOUR FATHER DID NOT DIE BY ACCIDENT. PATRICK HELPED THEM.*
