Chapter 10 - My old house looked exactly as I remembered.White shutters.
Stone steps.
The oak tree Derek had planted when he was twelve.
The swing where he used to sit with his first girlfriend.
Everything looked peaceful.
That was the terrifying part.
Nathan stayed hidden nearby.
Derek wanted to come.
I refused.
“This is between me and them.”
“No,” he said. “It's between you and the people who turned me into a monster.”
I looked at him.
“You turned yourself into one.”
He lowered his head.
“Yes.”
I entered alone.
The front door was unlocked.
No lights.
No sound.
I walked through the living room.
The furniture had been moved.
My photographs were gone.
My husband's portrait had been removed from the wall.
I felt something inside me crack.
This wasn't just a house.
It was evidence that they believed I had disappeared.
I reached the basement.
The door opened easily.
A light clicked on.
Amanda stood at the bottom of the stairs.
She looked exhausted.
Lucinda sat tied to a chair.
Gideon stood behind her.
And beside him was Captain Ross.
My stomach dropped.
Ross smiled.
“Mrs. Harper.”
I stared at him.
“You knew.”
“For years.”
“You helped my husband get killed.”
He shrugged.
“I helped the wrong man.”
Gideon stepped forward.
“Enough history.”
He pointed to a table.
“Bring me the archive.”
“I don't have it.”
“You are the archive.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Gideon smiled.
“Your husband encoded the foundation records using your personal memories.”
I stared.
The swimming competitions.
Our anniversaries.
The places we'd visited.
The dates of our marriage.
Things only I could reconstruct.
It wasn't a physical archive.
It was a sequence.
A human key.
Gideon wanted me to unlock it.
“You have no idea how much money is behind that door,” he said.
“I know enough.”
“Hundreds of millions.”
“Yes.”
He smiled.
“And all of it can disappear with you.”
I looked at Amanda.
“You lied to me.”
She avoided my eyes.
“I was scared.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You were greedy.”
Amanda's face hardened.
“Do you think you are better than me?”
“Yes.”
She laughed.
“Why?”
“Because I never tried to kill you.”
Silence.
Gideon approached.
“You have one chance.”
He placed a document in front of me.
A transfer agreement.
The foundation.
Everlake intellectual property.
Everything.
“Sign.”
I looked down.
Then laughed.
“You still think I'm confused.”
Gideon frowned.
I picked up the pen.
“Fine.”
Amanda stared.
Gideon smiled.
I signed.
The room went silent.
Gideon looked at the signature.
Then at me.
“You did it.”
“Yes.”
He picked up the document.
A second later, his smile disappeared.
The signature was not mine.
It was a perfect copy.
A signature I'd used during my eight months of pretending to be cognitively impaired.
One I'd intentionally altered.
Gideon stared.
I leaned forward.
“You should have watched me more carefully.”
Captain Ross reached for his weapon.
A gunshot echoed.
He collapsed.
Nathan entered through the doorway.
Gideon's men rushed in.
The basement erupted.
Lucinda screamed.
Amanda ran.
I pulled Lucinda's chair away.
Derek appeared behind me.
He tackled one of the men.
Gideon disappeared through the back door.
I chased him.
He ran into the old storage room.
There was nowhere left to go.
Then he turned.
Gun raised.
“You should have died in the lake.”
I stared at him.
“I know.”
He smiled.
“But you made one mistake.”
I froze.
“What?”
He looked toward Derek.
“You believed your son was trying to save you.”
A shot rang out.
Derek fell.
I screamed.
Gideon lowered the gun.
“Now you understand.”
He stepped backward.
“You were never fighting to get your money back.”
He smiled.
“You were fighting a family that was already dead.”
Then he vanished through the tunnel.
I dropped beside Derek.
Blood spread across his shirt.
He opened his eyes.
“Mom…”
I grabbed his hand.
“Stay with me.”
May you like
He whispered:
“I know where he went.”
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