For six years, he had told himself he would never have to speak her name again.

Now her face was lying on a hospital table, beside a note that threatened to unravel everything.

Finally, he whispered, “Her name was Susan.””

Harris waited.

Richard’s voice cracked.

“She was Daniel’s wife.””

“And what happened to her?””

Richard looked at Karen.

His daughter had gone completely still.

He turned back toward the detective.

“She’s dead.””

“Are you certain?””

“Yes.””

Harris lifted the folded note.

“Then perhaps you can explain why this message was hidden in your daughter’s backpack.””

Richard read the sentence again.

If anything happens to me, Richard knows where to find the original.

His face drained of color.

Because he knew exactly what the word original meant.

And he knew where it had been hidden.

For six years, he had believed that place was inaccessible.

He had believed no one else knew about it.

But someone had found a way to send the evidence to his daughter.

Someone who knew enough about the past to make the police reopen a case that had once threatened to destroy him.

Richard’s gaze moved slowly toward Karen.

She was staring at the floor.

“Dad,” she whispered.

He barely heard her.

“Emily,” he said.

Detective Harris frowned.

“What about Emily?””

Richard looked up.

“My daughter didn’t know what was in that pouch.””

Harris folded her arms.

“You seem very certain of that.””

“Because if she had known, she would never have carried it.””

“Why?””

Richard’s lips parted.

He had no answer that wouldn’t expose him.

Before he could speak, the consultation-room door opened again.

A nurse stood in the doorway.

“Detective Harris? Emily is awake. She keeps asking for her aunt, and she says she needs to tell someone something important.””

Richard turned toward the door.

For the first time that night, he looked genuinely terrified.

Not because his daughter might die.

Not because the police had found evidence.

But because Emily was awake.

And whatever she remembered about the night Karen planted the pills in her room could be the one thing he had never prepared himself to hear.

The nurse glanced at the people around the table.

“There’s one more thing,” she added.

“Emily says the person who put the pouch in her backpack wasn’t Karen.””

Richard froze.

Karen’s head snapped up.

And the nurse delivered the words that changed the entire investigation.

“She says she knows exactly who did it.””