Chapter 13 - Out Through the Smoke

Elena found the side door by memory and feel. The smoke burned her eyes. Theo clung to her neck, coughing into her shoulder.

"Count the doors," she told him. "Remember?"

"Three," he whispered. "This is the second."

They stumbled into the rain. Mason emerged behind them, dragging the man who had guarded Theo. Police officers rushed past and entered the boathouse, but Adrian was still inside.

"He went back for the ledger."

"He went back because he thinks he has to fix everything himself. You cannot save everyone by running into fire."

The words hit too close. Elena struggled against him, then heard a crash from inside. Adrian appeared at the doorway, one arm wrapped around his ribs, his face streaked with soot. He had not saved the ledger. He had saved a small metal case bolted beneath the table.

Adrian held his son so tightly the boy squeaked. Then he looked at Elena over Theo's shoulder.

"You came back," he said.

"I told you I would."

The fire crew extinguished the blaze before it reached the main estate. Celeste had escaped across the lake in a small motorboat, but she had dropped the ledger on the dock when police shouted at her. The pages were scorched, yet most remained readable.

Inside the metal case was Nora's original backup drive, sealed in a fireproof sleeve. The recorder had been a decoy; Nora had copied her files onto the drive and hidden it where she knew only someone searching the boathouse would find it.

Grace brought the drive to a forensic lab. The files showed false invoices, forged approvals, and messages between Celeste and the alarm technician. One message read: Make sure the east wing stays quiet. Nora is not to interrupt the meeting again.

Another, sent minutes after the fire began, read: The nanny is taking the boy out. Keep her away from the bedroom.

Adrian read the words with trembling hands. Celeste had known Elena was saving Theo. She had ordered someone to keep Elena from reaching Nora.

But the most important file was encrypted, and the password hint was a single line in Nora's handwriting: The promise we made under the oak tree.

May you like

My Mother Grabbed My Wife by the Hair Over Cold Soup—But What My Father...

My mother grabbed my wife by the hair over a bowl of cold soup. And the most shameful part? For one terrible second, I almost defe...

My Parents Kicked My 6-Year-Old Daughter and Me Out on Christmas—Then I...

My mother kicked my six-year-old daughter out of Christmas dinner, never realizing I was the only reason she still had a house to...

The Bride Threw His 80-Year-Old Mother’s Jacket on the Floor at Their We...

She threw his 80-year-old mother’s jacket on the floor… and smiled like she had just won.In front of two hundred wedding guests, t...

Then he remembered a summer afternoon, years earlier, when Nora had made him promise that no matter what happened to their marriage, their son would never be used as a weapon.

He entered the phrase. The drive unlocked, revealing a video of Nora looking directly into the camera.