Chapter 19
I stared at Diane.
“No.”
She laughed weakly.
“You keep saying that whenever the truth hurts.”
“My uncle died five years ago.”
“That doesn’t make him innocent.”
“Why would Robert kill Thomas?”
“Because Mercer paid him.”
I felt cold.
Robert Carter had been my father’s older brother.
Daniel’s father.
A man I remembered as loud, generous, impatient.
He brought me birthday gifts.
Taught me to fish.
Cried at my mother’s funeral.
Could he have killed Ryan’s father?
“Proof.”
Diane looked toward her bedside drawer.
“The police took my things.”
“Then tell me where.”
“The red case had Thomas’s original diary.”
“It wasn’t there when police found it.”
“No. Because someone took it.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Convenient.”
Her eyes hardened.
“You think I did all this for money?”
“Yes.”
She looked genuinely offended.
“I wanted justice.”
“You targeted me before your son met me.”
“Yes.”
“You pushed him to marry me.”
“Yes.”
“You researched my inheritance.”
“Yes.”
“You tried to access my trust account.”
Her expression faltered.
“Yes.”
“You kidnapped Rebecca.”
“I brought her to the cottage.”
“Against her will.”
“Eventually.”
I leaned forward.
“You don’t get to say justice after that.”
Diane stared at me.
“I spent thirty years knowing the Carter family buried my husband’s death.”
“So you decided to destroy me.”
“You were their weakness.”
“I was a child when Thomas died.”
“I know.”
The admission was quiet.
That somehow made it worse.
“You knew.”
“I told myself you were just another Carter.”
“I’m Thomas’s daughter.”
Her face crumpled.
For the first time, the hatred disappeared.
“Yes.”
“And you still did it.”
Tears formed in her eyes.
“I hated your mother.”
“I noticed.”
“She had Thomas’s love.”
“You had his marriage.”
“She had his child.”
“You had Ryan.”
“He wasn’t Thomas’s.”
“Thomas still loved him.”
That silenced her.
I continued.
“Thomas wrote him a letter saying exactly that.”
Diane turned away.
“You kept that letter.”
“I couldn’t destroy it.”
“Why?”
Her voice cracked.
“Because it was the last thing he wrote.”
For one second, I saw her grief.
Then I remembered the broom.
The threats.
Rebecca.
The stalking notebook.
Grief explained nothing away.
“Who is Ryan’s biological father?”
She closed her eyes.
“Charles Mercer.”
I nearly laughed from shock.
Of course.
Every road led to him.
“Did Thomas know?”
“He suspected.”
“Did Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“Did Ryan?”
“No.”
“Did Mercer ever acknowledge him?”
“Never.”
My stomach twisted.
Thomas had investigated the biological father of the child he was raising.
Mercer had allegedly paid Robert to kill Thomas.
If true, Ryan’s biological father had helped murder the man who loved him.
There were no clean corners left in this story.
“What happened the night my father died?”
Diane looked at me.
“I called Henry.”
“Why?”
“Because Robert’s old accountant contacted me.”
“About what?”
“A payment.”
“To Robert?”
“Yes.”
“From Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“Proof?”
“A wire record.”
“Where is it?”
“In Thomas’s diary.”
“Which is missing.”
“Yes.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You realize how this sounds.”
“I do.”
“You drove behind Dad.”
“He told me to meet him at the lake property.”
“Rebecca was already there.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Martin was following him.”
“I didn’t know.”
“What happened on the road?”
Diane swallowed.
“Henry stopped suddenly.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you hit him?”
“No.”
“Did your car touch his?”
“No.”
“Then how did he go through the rail?”
“He swerved.”
“Why?”
“I saw headlights coming toward us.”
“From where?”
“Opposite direction.”
“A third car?”
“Yes.”
“Did it hit him?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“It crossed into his lane.”
My breath caught.
“He swerved to avoid it?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see the driver?”
Diane stared at me.
“Charles Mercer.”
I stood.
“You’re sure?”
“I knew his face.”
“What did you do?”
“I stopped. I climbed down.”
“Martin said you took the red case.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because Henry told me to.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He was alive.”
The hospital room disappeared.
“You spoke to my father after the crash?”
Diane’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
She whispered,
“Take the case. Protect Emily. Don’t trust Robert’s son.”
My blood went cold.
“Daniel?”
Diane nodded.
I backed away from the bed.
“No.”
“Henry made me promise.”
“Daniel tried to save him.”
“I don’t know what Daniel did.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
I turned toward the door.
Diane called after me.
“Emily.”
I stopped.
“He said one more thing.”
I looked back.
“What?”
May you like
Her voice trembled.
“He said Daniel already knew why Mercer was there.”
