Chapter 9 - THE CABIN
Daniel did not go alone.
He told Detective Mills.
Sarah put officers nearby and made him wear a recorder.
“You don’t play hero,” she warned him.
“I’m not.”
“You’re angry.”
“I have a right to be.”
“You do. You don’t have a right to make Lily lose her father too.”
That landed.
Daniel nodded.
He drove to the cabin.
Eric was sitting on the porch.
He looked terrible.
“Where’s Mom?” Daniel asked.
“She isn’t here.”
“You said before she does.”
“I meant before she tells you her version.”
Daniel stayed standing.
“Tell me yours.”
Eric rubbed his hands together.
“The house money was Lily’s.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“I know.”
“I didn’t know when Mom gave it to me.”
“When did you find out?”
“Six months ago.”
“And you kept the house.”
“I was going to pay it back.”
Daniel laughed.
“With what?”
Eric looked down.
“I messed up.”
“You did more than mess up.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“My daughter was locked in a dark room while you lived in a house she paid for.”
Eric’s face crumpled.
“I installed the camera because I felt guilty.”
“That doesn’t erase anything.”
“I know.”
“Stop saying you know!”
Eric flinched.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Why bring me here?”
Eric stared at the cabin door.
“Because Melissa left something here.”
Daniel froze.
“What?”
“Mom came here two days after the funeral.”
“How do you know?”
“I drove her.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“She searched the cabin?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“Melissa kept records.”
Daniel went inside.
The cabin smelled like cedar and dust.
He hadn’t been there since Melissa died.
Every room was a memory.
The kitchen where they burned pancakes.
The couch where Melissa fell asleep on his shoulder.
The window where she stood holding newborn Lily.
Eric led him upstairs.
“Mom tore this room apart.”
The office looked normal now.
“What was she looking for?”
“A red folder.”
“Did she find it?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I did.”
Daniel turned.
Eric reached behind a loose panel beneath an old bookshelf.
He pulled out a plastic-wrapped folder.
Red.
Daniel stared at it.
“You had this?”
“I found it months later.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I was scared.”
Daniel grabbed it.
Inside were copies of bank records.
Texts.
Trust documents.
A handwritten letter.
Daniel unfolded it.
DANIEL—
If you are reading this, something happened before I could fix it.
Please understand this first: I love you.
And I trust you with Lily.
I do not trust your mother.
Daniel stopped.
His eyes blurred.
He kept reading.
Melissa described Margaret’s pressure.
The threats.
The financial scheme.
Then the last paragraph.
There is something else you need to know.
Margaret has been hiding the truth about your father for years.
If she loses control of Lily’s trust, she loses more than money.
Daniel frowned.
“What does Dad have to do with this?”
Eric went pale.
“I was afraid you’d get to that part.”
Daniel looked at him.
“What do you know?”
Before Eric could answer, a window shattered.
Daniel pulled him down.
A gunshot cracked through the cabin.
Wood exploded from the wall.
Eric screamed.
Outside, a car engine roared.
Daniel crawled to the window.
A black SUV tore away through the trees.
Sarah and the officers moved immediately.
But before Daniel could stand, he saw blood spreading across Eric’s shirt.
“Eric!”
Eric grabbed Daniel’s sleeve.
His breathing was shallow.
“Dad…”
“What about Dad?”
Eric looked terrified.
“He didn’t die from a heart attack.”
Daniel froze.
May you like
Eric whispered:
“Mom killed him too.”
