Chapter 12: The Floorboard
I didn’t tell Lily where we were going.
I didn’t tell her about the recording.
Children shouldn’t carry adult secrets.
She had carried enough.
Ava drove separately.
I followed her to Megan’s old house.
It was abandoned.
Small.
The kind of place people forget exists.
But apparently, this house had been holding the truth for years.
The front door was already unlocked.
That scared me.
“Someone has been here,” Ava said.
I looked around.
Dust covered the furniture.
The air smelled old and empty.
Except for one thing.
Fresh footprints.
Someone had come recently.
Ava whispered:
“Mark.””
My heart sank.
“He knows.””
We moved quickly.
Megan’s old bedroom was at the end of the hallway.
Ava pointed.
“The floorboard.””
I knelt down.
The wood was loose.
My fingers found the edge.
Inside was a small metal box.
I pulled it out.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Because we all knew.
Whatever was inside had survived three years of lies.
I opened it.
A flash drive.
A handwritten note.
And a photograph.
The photograph showed Mark.
Standing beside Emma.
On the night she died.
But there was something else.
A woman in the background.
Someone I recognized.
I picked up the picture.
“No.””
Ava looked over.
“What?””
I stared at the woman.
“Evelyn.””
My voice barely worked.
“Grandma knew.””
Before Ava could answer, the sound of footsteps came from downstairs.
Slow.
Heavy.
Someone was inside.
Ava grabbed my arm.
“Hide.””
We moved behind the bedroom door.
The footsteps came closer.
A man’s voice filled the hallway.
“Chloe.””
My blood turned cold.
Mark.
He had found us.
The door handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then his voice came again.
“You need to understand something.””
The door began opening.
“I’m not the villain in this story.””
The door swung wider.
And Mark stepped inside.
Holding a police report in his hand.
He looked directly at me.
Then at the flash drive.
May you like
And whispered:
“You were never supposed to find that.””
