Chapter 1 - FIVE MINUTES LEFT
My mother had five minutes left to live when my eight-year-old brother pointed at our uncle and accused him of murder.
For six years, Caroline Hayes had been called a killer.
For six years, I had wondered if everyone was right.
And now the little boy standing beside me was about to tear the entire case apart.
“He did it.”
Ethan’s finger shook as he pointed across the visitation room.
Straight at Victor Hayes.
My father’s younger brother.
My uncle.
The man who had helped raise Ethan after Mom went to prison.
Victor’s face turned white.
Nobody moved.
Then Ethan spoke again.
“I saw Uncle Victor in Mommy’s bedroom.”
My mother’s cuffed hands began trembling.
“Ethan…”
Victor immediately shook his head.
“This is insane.”
His voice came out too fast.
Too sharp.
“He was two years old.”
The warden narrowed his eyes.
Victor took another step backward.
“A two-year-old cannot remember something from six years ago.”
Nobody had asked him whether Ethan could remember.
Nobody had even asked Victor a question.
Yet he was already defending himself.
That was when something inside me shifted.
I looked at the man I had trusted for six years.
The man who had driven me to Mom’s trial.
The man who had sat beside me when the jury returned its verdict.
The man who had put his arm around my shoulders when the judge sentenced my mother to death.
Victor had whispered something to me that day.
“Your father has justice now.”
I remembered those words perfectly.
Suddenly, they sounded different.
A guard moved between Victor and the door.
“Sir, remain where you are.”
Victor laughed nervously.
“You cannot possibly be taking this seriously.”
The warden didn’t blink.
“The execution is suspended until I determine what the child is claiming.”
Victor’s expression changed.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Anger.
Not confusion.
Not disbelief.
Anger.
“Suspended?”
He looked toward my mother.
“She was convicted.”
Mom stared back at him.
Something passed between them.
Something I couldn’t understand.
Then Ethan tugged on my hand.
“Sophie.”
I crouched beside him.
“What is it?”
He leaned close enough that only I could hear him.
“He had Daddy’s red towel.”
My stomach tightened.
“What red towel?”
“The kitchen one.”
Ethan rubbed his eyes.
“The one with the little white lines.”
I stopped breathing.
The prosecution had shown photographs from our kitchen during the trial.
There had been a matching set of red dish towels hanging beside the sink.
One towel had never been found.
That detail had not been important enough to appear in newspaper stories.
I knew because I had read every article about the murder until I could barely sleep.
“How do you remember that?”
Ethan looked frightened.
“I dreamed about it.”
Victor heard him.
His eyes widened.
Then Ethan whispered another sentence.
“He wrapped the knife in it.”
Victor ran.
It happened so quickly that the guard nearest the door barely had time to react.
Victor slammed his shoulder into him.
The guard crashed against the wall.
“Stop!”
Victor grabbed the door handle.
Another officer caught the back of his jacket.
Victor twisted around and punched him.
My mother screamed.
Ethan buried his face against me.
Two correctional officers tackled Victor before he reached the hallway.
He hit the floor hard.
“GET OFF ME!”
He kicked wildly.
“I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!”
The warden stepped forward.
“Restrain him.”
Victor’s wrists were pulled behind his back.
He stared directly at Ethan.
And the hatred on his face terrified me more than anything I had seen during Mom’s trial.
“You little liar.”
Ethan flinched.
I moved in front of him.
“Don’t talk to him.”
Victor laughed.
“You think this changes anything, Sophie?”
I stared at him.
“Why did you run?”
His smile disappeared.
“I panicked.”
“Why?”
“Because everybody suddenly decided a child’s nightmare was evidence.”
Then Mom spoke.
“Victor.”
Her voice was barely louder than a whisper.
He turned.
Mom looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“Where were you that night?”
Victor stared at her.
For six years, he had claimed he had been home alone.
That alibi had never been seriously challenged because he wasn’t considered a suspect.
“I already answered that question.”
Mom swallowed.
“You came to the house.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Victor’s face tightened.
Mom continued.
“You called Daniel that afternoon.”
Daniel.
My father.
“You were angry.”
Victor laughed.
“You’re about to be executed for murdering your husband and suddenly you remember this?”
“I always remembered.”
“Then why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“I did.”
Silence.
I turned toward her.
“What?”
Mom looked at me.
“I told Detective Mercer.”
My stomach dropped.
Detective Alan Mercer had been the lead investigator.
He was also the man who testified that my mother had never suggested another viable suspect.
“That isn’t what Mercer said in court.”
“I know.”
Mom’s voice broke.
“He lied.”
The warden looked toward one of his officers.
“Contact the governor’s office.”
Then he looked at another.
“Call the district attorney.”
Victor started struggling again.
“This is ridiculous!”
The warden ignored him.
Mom’s eyes remained locked on mine.
“There’s more.”
I stepped closer.
“What?”
She looked toward Victor.
Then back at me.
“The night your father died, he called me from the kitchen.”
My heart pounded.
“What did he say?”
Mom’s lower lip trembled.
“He said Victor had found out.”
“Found out what?”
Before Mom could answer, Victor screamed from the floor.
“SHUT UP, CAROLINE!”
Everyone froze.
Mom closed her eyes.
And for the first time in six years, I understood something horrifying.
Victor wasn’t afraid Ethan remembered the murder.
He was afraid Mom would finally explain why it happened.
The warden leaned toward her.
“Mrs. Hayes, what had Victor found out?”
Mom opened her eyes.
“Your father discovered Victor had been stealing from the company.”
I stared at her.
My father had owned Hayes Medical Distribution with Victor.
After Dad died and Mom went to prison, Victor inherited control of the company.
A company now worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
“How much?”
Mom looked at Victor.
“Almost four million dollars.”
Victor stopped struggling.
Mom continued.
“Daniel was going to report him the next morning.”
My skin went cold.
Then Ethan suddenly pulled away from me.
“There was another man.”
The room fell silent again.
I looked down at him.
“What?”
Ethan’s face had gone pale.
“Uncle Victor wasn’t alone.”
Victor’s eyes widened.
Ethan looked toward him.
May you like
And whispered:
“The policeman was there too.”
