I remembered Karen’s face in the hallway, the tiny twitch at the corner of her mouth when Dad threw me out, and the way she’d looked when I mentioned the attic.

“She wanted Dad to believe I was sick,” I continued.

“She wanted him to think I was lying about everything. But she didn’t know about the pouch until the police found it.””

Harris closed her notebook.

“Emily, do you have any idea who might know about your mother’s blue box?””

I swallowed.

“Yes.””

“Who?””

“My aunt Laura.””

The detective studied me for a moment.

“Your father’s sister?””

“My mother’s sister.””

I looked directly at her.

“Please call her before my dad does.””

“Why?””

“Because my mother told me that if anything happened to her, Aunt Laura would know what to do.””

Detective Harris stood slowly.

“Emily, did your mother die of an illness?””

I shook my head.

“No.””

The room seemed to grow quieter.

I watched the detective’s expression change.

“My mother died in a car accident,” I whispered.

“That’s what Dad told us.””

Harris said nothing.

I reached for the cup of water, but my hands were shaking too badly to lift it.

“Three weeks before she died, she told me something. I was too young to understand. She said that if anyone ever asked about Daniel Mercer, I should never answer questions without Aunt Laura.””

Detective Harris sat down again.

“Emily, did your father know she told you that?””

“No.””

I looked at the door.

“But Karen might have heard us.””

“Why?””

“Because she was standing outside the bedroom.””

I remembered the shadow beneath the door.

The soft click of the hallway floorboard.

And the voice that had whispered my name after my mother stopped speaking.

Detective Harris reached for her phone.

“I’m going to contact your aunt.””

I grabbed her sleeve before she could stand.

“Detective?””

“Yes?””

I hesitated.

Then I asked the question that had haunted me since I found the pouch.

“If my mother died in a car accident, why did I see her handwriting on a note dated two days after she died?””

For the first time since she’d entered the room, Detective Harris looked genuinely stunned.

And when I told her where the note had been hidden, she immediately called for Officer Daniels.

Because if the date was genuine, someone had lied about the night my mother died.

And someone had been hiding the truth inside our house for six years.

Chapter 5: My Aunt Arrived With a Secret