Chapter 5 - WHAT SARAH LEFT BEHIND
Nobody moved.
Vanessa stood in the center of the kitchen, breathing heavily.
Mark stared at her as though he had never seen her before.
Lily was still holding my hand.
And I could feel her trembling.
"You said Sarah died in an accident," Mark whispered.
Vanessa looked at him.
"I was afraid."
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
"You knew!"
"I didn't know who did it!"
Mark slammed his hand against the counter.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I thought they would kill you too."
The words hung in the air.
I looked at the memory card in Lily's hand.
"What is on it?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"I don't know."
"Liar."
"I swear."
"Then why were you looking for it?"
She didn't answer.
Mark took the card from Lily.
"Where's the computer?"
I pointed toward the office.
"Let's find out."
We walked upstairs.
Lily followed.
Vanessa remained downstairs.
Before I entered the office, I looked back at her.
She was crying.
For the first time, I wondered whether her fear was real.
Not guilt.
Fear.
The distinction mattered.
Because if Vanessa wasn't the person who killed Sarah...
then who was?
The memory card contained seventeen files.
The first sixteen were photographs.
Sarah.
Sarah at work.
Sarah leaving a building.
Sarah talking to people I didn't recognize.
Sarah standing beside Vanessa.
Sarah sitting inside a car.
Sarah looking over her shoulder.
Sarah carrying a folder.
Sarah crying.
The final photograph made Mark sit down.
It showed Sarah standing beside a dark SUV.
The date was visible in the corner.
Three days before her death.
Behind her stood Daniel Reeves.
And beside Daniel was another man.
I didn't recognize him.
Mark did.
He whispered:
"That's Michael."
"Who?"
"My brother."
I stared at him.
Mark's younger brother Michael had disappeared when they were teenagers.
Their father had always said he moved away.
But Mark had never talked about him.
"Your brother is alive?"
"I thought he was dead."
The next file was a video.
Mark clicked it.
The screen showed Sarah sitting at a table.
She looked directly into the camera.
Her face was bruised.
My breath caught.
"Sarah..."
Mark covered his mouth.
Lily cried out.
"Mommy."
Sarah spoke.
Her voice was weak.
"If you're watching this, something happened to me."
The video shook slightly.
Sarah looked behind her.
Then back at the camera.
"I don't know who I can trust anymore."
Mark began crying silently.
Sarah continued.
"Mark, I'm sorry."
She paused.
"If I don't make it home, please believe me when I tell you this."
She leaned closer.
"Vanessa is not the person you think she is."
Vanessa's voice came from downstairs.
"Stop the video."
We all froze.
Mark looked toward the doorway.
Vanessa stood there.
Her face was wet with tears.
"You don't want to hear the rest."
Mark stood.
"Why?"
"Because Sarah lied."
"Lied about what?"
"About me."
"What does that mean?"
Vanessa looked at Lily.
Then at me.
Then at Mark.
"I didn't kill Sarah."
"Who did?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"I don't know."
Mark walked toward her.
"Then why did Sarah warn me about you?"
"Because she believed I was involved."
"Were you?"
Vanessa closed her eyes.
"Yes."
Mark stopped.
"In what?"
She whispered:
"I helped her."
Silence.
"Helped her do what?"
"Investigate Daniel."
I looked at the screen.
"Why?"
"Because Sarah discovered something."
"What?"
Vanessa looked at me.
"People were dying."
"Who?"
"People whose insurance policies had recently changed."
I felt a chill.
"How many?"
"Seven."
Mark stared at her.
"Seven?"
Vanessa nodded.
"Seven people died under suspicious circumstances."
"And Sarah found them?"
"She found the pattern."
"Daniel?"
"Daniel was connected to all of them."
I looked at the photograph again.
Daniel.
The cars.
The insurance documents.
The secret meetings.
Everything began forming a terrifying shape.
Then Lily spoke.
"What about Mommy?"
Vanessa looked at her.
"Your mother found out too much."
"Did Daniel kill her?"
Vanessa didn't answer.
Lily asked again.
"Did he kill Mommy?"
Vanessa whispered:
"I don't know."
Then the computer suddenly went black.
The screen flickered.
The memory card disappeared from the folder.
Mark stared at the computer.
"What happened?"
I checked the card.
It was still inserted.
But the files were gone.
All seventeen.
Every photograph.
Every video.
Everything.
Someone had remotely accessed the computer.
Someone who knew we were watching.
Mark turned pale.
"How?"
Vanessa whispered:
"He found us."
"Who?"
She looked toward the window.
"Daniel."
A car passed outside.
We all turned.
Black SUV.
It slowed.
Then stopped.
Lily grabbed my hand.
"Grandpa."
I looked at the vehicle.
The driver's door opened.
A man stepped out.
Tall.
Gray coat.
Dark hair.
He looked directly at the house.
Then he raised one hand.
Not waving.
Pointing.
At the upstairs window.
At us.
Mark whispered:
"That's him."
Daniel Reeves.
He had found us.
And then my phone vibrated.
One new message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
There was only one sentence.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE PAST BURIED.
Then another message appeared.
BECAUSE NOW I KNOW WHERE LILY SLEEPS.
I looked at my granddaughter.
She was staring at the window.
And suddenly, protecting Lily was no longer about keeping her away from Vanessa.
It was about keeping her alive.
Because whoever had killed Sarah three years earlier had just made one thing very clear.
They were willing to finish what they started.
May you like
And this time...
they knew exactly where to find her.
