Chapter 44 – Secrets Unveiled
Isabel’s POV
I stared at the test results, my hands trembling as I held the paper. Nervous headache? How could this be? Just a headache?
The diagnosis felt like a cruel joke, mocking the pain and fear that had plagued me for so long. My mind raced. Did someone ta per with the results? Who could have done it? Lilith? The thought of her involvement sent a chill down my spine.
But before I could voice my suspicions, Emerson’s voice cut through my confusion. “Lilith wasn’t the only victim. Your father was a lot worse than you thought.”
His words struck me like a slap in the face. I felt the air leave my lungs. What did he mean by that? I searched Emerson’s face for answers, but he only offered a cold, distant expression.
“If you want to know the truth,” he said, his tone as icy as his gaze, “why don’t you investigate it yourself?”
And with that, he turned and walked away. He left me standing there, clutching the test results in one hand and the divorce agreement in the
other.
A flood of emotions overwhelmed me–relief, dread, confusion. I finally had the funds I needed to save my father. That was what mattered, right? I needed to focus on that. Everything else could wait.
I forced myself to move, to get out of the hospital and head straight to the bank. The money was transferred, the debts paid, and I retrieved the keys to my father’s house. But the relief was fleeting. My heart sank. when the hospital told me just how close I had come to losing him.
“They were about to cut him off life support next week if you hadn’t
paid the women on the phone said, er vore too calm to the you of her words
One more week, and my fyter would fave been SOE. THE Hiscuss made me sick to my stomach. I drove targin to the scopia may nee gripping the steering wheel so tightly shop my kouckles times whi When I arrived, I rushed to his ro70), 30 9996 Á my bossesSTIGHE in the sterile hallway,
“Hey, Dad,” I whispered as I set beside kim, taking his sold,
unresponsive hand in mine “Goodrem Weig
I swallowed hard, tears burning in my eyes To ne giving us in you. know you’re in there, omewhere. Yoytaw to frgin, use is 1814 I wake up. I need you”
The words tumbled out a mix of desperation and hose “YOU WE always the kindest, most supportive byter How could Emerson SEAN you were involved in crimes? It doesnt make any senise You WESTE TTIN hero. You still are.”
I choked back a sob, leaning my head against his hand “Please, Dart || need you to wake up and explain everything I need you to tell me ther Emerson is wrong”
But there was no response. Just the steady, dhythmic beeping of the machines keeping him alive. I stayed there for when fet ikke hours, pouring my heart out to him, searching for snowers that only he could give,
But as the day wore on, I knew I had to leave I had to find the truth on
my own.
I secretly drove to my father’s house. The large renovated farmhouse just outside of Rivermont had once been my home, my sanctuary The air inside was thick with dust and memorie
I started rummaging through his papers, desperate for any clue that
+25 BONUS
Chapter 4
could explain Emerson’s accusations, Bills, letters, old photos–nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But then, something caught my eye.
The painting in his study, the one that had hung there for as long as I could remember, was slightly askew. I stepped closer, my heart pounding in my chest. With trembling hands, I lifted the painting off the wall, revealing a small safe embedded in the plaster.
A safe? I had never known it was there. My mind raced as I tried to think of what the code could be. I hesitated for a moment before entering my birth date. The safe clicked open. I held my breath as I pulled the door open.
od d
Inside, there were photos–old, faded pictures of Lilith. She looked much younger, almost innocent, in those images. My stomach turned as I sifted through them. What was my father doing with these? Did he really do something unforgivable to her? The thought made my skin crawl.
My face drained of color, and I struggled to breathe. Did Emerson speak the truth after all? The thought made my entire world crumble around me.
I felt like I was drowning in an abyss of despair. Who could I turn to? Who could help me make sense of this nightmare?
I wanted to scream, to cry out for someone to save me from this madness. But all I could do was stare at those pictures, my mind. reeling from the implications. “Oh dad, what did you do?”