Chapter 5: The Key Inside the Ashes
I waited until 7 a.m. before I acted.
Detective Ramirez had gone to get coffee. The two uniformed officers outside Evan’s room had been switched for a new shift. Denise had finally fallen asleep in the chair beside Evan’s bed.
I walked into the small evidence storage room near the trauma bay. The burned briefcase was still there, sealed in its bag.
I put on fresh gloves and carefully opened the bag.
The leather was stiff and cracked from the fire. The metal clasps were warped. But the main compartment was still intact.
I reached inside.
My fingers brushed against something small and cold near the bottom. I pulled it out.
A small, silver key.
It had survived the fire almost completely undamaged.
I stared at it for a long moment.
Then I slipped it into my pocket, resealed the evidence bag, and walked out.
Evan was awake when I returned to his room. Denise was still asleep. He watched me with wary eyes as I approached the bed.
“You went through the briefcase,” he said quietly.
I didn’t deny it.
“What did you find?” he asked.
I looked at him — the man I had once loved, the man who had lied to me for years, the man who had tried to burn down my father’s legacy.
“I found the reason you’re so scared,” I said.
Evan’s face tightened.
“Allison, whatever you think you know—”
“I know my father is alive,” I interrupted. “I know he was in that warehouse. And I know you were trying to destroy evidence before he could use it against you.”
Evan was quiet for a long moment.
Then he spoke, his voice low and bitter.
“Your father was going to ruin everything. He found out about the money. He was going to have me arrested. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“So you tried to kill him,” I said.
Evan didn’t answer.
But he didn’t need to.
I looked at him for a long time.
“I loved you,” I said quietly. “Even after my father died — or I thought he died — I still tried to hold on to what we had. But you didn’t just betray my father. You betrayed me.”
Evan’s eyes filled with something that might have been regret.
Or maybe it was just fear.
“I never wanted to hurt you,” he said.
I shook my head.
“You already did.”
I turned and walked out of the room.
As I stepped into the hallway, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
It was a text from an unknown number.
Get the documents from the safety deposit box.
Then meet me at the old cabin by the lake.
Come alone.
— Dad
I stared at the message for a long time.
My father was alive.
My husband had tried to destroy everything he built.
And now, I was being pulled into the middle of a war I never knew was happening.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket and walked toward the exit.
Whatever was waiting for me at that lake house, I was going to face it.
May you like
Because for the first time in six months, I wasn’t grieving my father.
I was going to find him.
