Chapter 17: The Last Person We Suspected
The sound of breaking glass sent Lily screaming.
Everything happened at once.
I grabbed my daughter.
Emily pulled her toward the hallway.
Mark moved toward the door.
Claire shouted for everyone to get down.
Then another sound.
A gunshot.
Not inside.
Outside.
Everyone froze.
Daniel wasn’t trying to enter.
He was trying to scare us.
A message.
A warning.
Emily grabbed my arm.
“We have to go.””
I looked at her.
“No.””
“David.””
“I lost you once.””
Her expression broke.
“I know.””
“I’m not losing you again.””
For a moment, we just stared at each other.
Seven years of pain between us.
Seven years of words we never got to say.
Then Emily whispered:
“I never stopped loving you.””
My throat tightened.
“I never stopped waiting for you.””
Another crash came from outside.
Reality returned.
Emily looked toward the hallway.
“Lily comes first.””
I nodded.
Always.
We moved through the back door.
The rain was pouring.
Mark led us toward his car.
But before we reached it, a figure stepped out from the darkness.
Daniel.
Older.
Angrier.
Smiling.
“I was wondering how long it would take.””
Emily froze.
“You.””
Daniel looked at her.
“You should have stayed hidden.””
I stepped forward.
“You’re done.””
He laughed.
“Am I?””
Mark moved beside me.
“You have no power anymore.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Still pretending you’re the hero?””
Mark’s face changed.
Because Daniel knew exactly where to hurt him.
“You remember what you did.””
I looked at Mark.
“What is he talking about?””
Daniel smiled.
“Tell him.””
Mark looked away.
“David…”
My chest tightened.
“What?””
Daniel laughed.
“He never told you.””
Emily stepped forward.
“Stop.””
Daniel looked at her.
“You still protect him?””
“Because unlike you, I know the difference between a mistake and evil.””
Daniel’s smile disappeared.
“You think you’re better than me?””
“Yes.””
The rain fell harder.
Daniel looked at me.
“You want the truth?””
I didn’t answer.
He continued.
“Your best friend helped me find Emily.””
My heart sank.
I looked at Mark.
“No.””
Mark closed his eyes.
“David…”
“No.””
Daniel smiled.
“He gave me information.””
“He was trying to stop you,” Emily said.
Daniel laughed.
“After he helped me.””
The silence was unbearable.
I looked at Mark.
“Is it true?””
Mark looked broken.
“Yes.””
The word hurt.
Even though I already knew.
“I thought I could control it.””
“You couldn’t.””
“No.””
Mark looked at Emily.
“I made the biggest mistake of my life.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“And now you know the best part?””
Nobody moved.
“The person who caused Emily’s accident wasn’t me.””
My blood ran cold.
“What?””
Daniel smiled.
“He just thinks he knows who did.””
Emily’s face changed.
She looked at him.
“You’re lying.””
“Am I?””
Daniel looked at me.
“You still haven’t figured it out.””
“Figured out what?””
He smiled.
“The person who betrayed Emily wasn’t trying to kill her.””
The rain seemed to stop.
“They were trying to erase the evidence.””
Emily whispered:
“No.””
Daniel looked directly at me.
“And they succeeded.””
A car engine started nearby.
Another vehicle.
Someone else was coming.
Daniel stepped backward.
“I’ll let you ask them yourself.””
“Who?””
He smiled.
“The person who has been cleaning up everyone’s mistakes.””
The headlights appeared through the rain.
Emily grabbed my hand.
“No.””
I looked at her.
“Who is it?””
Her face turned pale.
Because she recognized the car.
“No…”
The vehicle stopped.
May you like
The door opened.
And the person who stepped out was the last person any of us expected.
