gone back home. She'd stayed at a small roadside motel just outside town, the kind of place where no one asked questions and the silence felt heavy but safe.

y father. Or maybe even someone from the board of Carter Financial. Maybe they knew all along." Jason leaned in. "Whoever he is, he wants the truth out. The question is what's the rest?" Emily's voice shook. "What else could there be?" Jason hesitated. "What if your dad didn't just frame mine what if someone else helped?" That afternoon, Emily drove home, determined to confront her parents again. But when she pulled into the driveway, she knew something was wrong. The front door was open. Not wide but cracked, like someone had left in a hurry. Inside, the house was eerily quiet. "Mom?" she called. "Dad?" No answer. She moved cautiously through the living room, past the kitchen, and down the hall toward her father's office. The door was ajar. Papers were scattered everywhere. File drawers left open. Someone had gone through everything fast and carelessly. Then she saw it. On the floor, next to the desk, was a broken picture frame. Inside it was a photo of her parents Daniel and Evelyn on their wedding day. Glass cracked across their smiling faces. And beneath it a note. "Too many lies. I can't protect her anymore. I'm done." It was signed: E. Her mother. Emily's hands shook as she picked it up. "No... no no no..." Suddenly, her phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: "You're not the only one they lied to. Meet me tonight. 9PM. Oakridge Cemetery. Come alone." Later that night, Emily sat in her car outside the cemetery, staring through the windshield at the fog rolling in. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears. Jason had begged her not to go alone. But something told her she had to. At exactly 9PM, a figure stepped out from the shadows. Tall, wearing a dark coat. Gray hair. Calm eyes. The man from the SUV. She stepped out slowly. "Who are you?" He looked at her for a long moment before speaking. "My name is Thomas Granger. I used to be your father's partner. I helped cover up what happened all those years ago." Emily tensed. "Why tel