Chapter 9: The Hidden File
I wanted to tell Clara she was wrong.
I wanted to laugh.
I wanted to say this was impossible.
But impossible had become a word I no longer trusted.
My mother was dead.
Daniel was dead.
And somehow, both deaths were connected to the same man.
Richard Carter.
I invited Clara inside.
She sat at the kitchen table, staring at the photographs on the wall.
Mostly Daniel.
Mostly Zola.
Mostly a life I thought I understood.
“I should have come sooner,” she whispered.
I sat across from her.
“Yes.””
The honesty surprised her.
“I know.””
I folded my hands.
“Tell me everything.””
Clara looked at Marcus.
“Is he safe?””
Marcus frowned.
“Why wouldn’t I be?””
“Because Richard knows you have the file.””
The room went silent.
Marcus stood.
“What file?””
Clara looked at me.
“Daniel never gave it to you?””
I shook my head.
“What file?””
Clara reached into her purse.
She pulled out a small envelope.
My name was written on it.
Again.
Daniel’s handwriting.
My stomach dropped.
“How many letters did my husband leave?””
Clara looked sad.
“Enough to protect you.””
I opened it.
Inside was a small piece of paper.
A location.
An address.
And one sentence.
*The truth is where we first fell in love.*
I immediately knew.
The old bookstore.
The place Daniel and I met.
The place we spent our first date.
The place that closed two years after we married.
Marcus looked at the address.
“He hid something there.””
I nodded.
Clara reached for my hand.
“Emily, before you go, you need to know something.””
“What?””
“Daniel wasn’t trying to expose Richard.””
I frowned.
“Then what was he doing?””
“He was trying to find the person Richard was protecting.””
My blood ran cold.
“Protecting?””
Clara nodded.
“Richard didn’t act alone.””
Marcus looked toward the door.
“Someone else is involved.””
Clara whispered:
“Yes.””
“Who?””
She looked at me.
“I don’t know.””
The answer frustrated me.
But then she added:
“Your husband knew.””
I froze.
“Daniel knew who?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t he tell me?””
Clara looked down.
“Because the person was someone you loved.””
The words hit me harder than anything else.
Someone I loved.
Someone close.
Someone I trusted.
My phone buzzed.
A message.
From Ethan.
*Don’t go to the bookstore.*
I stared.
Another message appeared.
*Please trust me this one time.*
Then a third.
*Daniel was wrong about one thing.*
My fingers trembled.
Marcus noticed.
“What did he say?””
I showed him.
He read the messages.
Then looked at Clara.
“What does he mean?””
Clara’s face changed.
She stood quickly.
“Oh no.””
“What?””
She looked toward the window.
“He knows.””
“Who?””
Clara grabbed her purse.
“The person Daniel was trying to protect you from.””
The lights suddenly went out.
The house fell into darkness.
Zola screamed from the living room.
“Mommy!””
I ran toward her.
Then I heard footsteps.
Not outside.
Inside.
Someone was already in the house.
Marcus grabbed my arm.
“Don’t move.””
A figure stepped into the hallway.
My heart stopped.
Because the voice that came from the darkness was one I knew.
One I trusted.
One I never thought I would fear.
“Emily.””
The person stepped into the light.
And whispered:
May you like
“I’m sorry Daniel never got the chance to tell you the truth.””
It was someone from my own family.
