Chapter 5: The Stranger Who Knew My Daughter
I stared at the photo until the screen blurred.
Sophie.
Standing outside the wedding venue.
Holding flowers.
Smiling.
A moment I never saw.
A moment someone else captured.
My first thought wasn’t about Emily.
It wasn’t about Vanessa.
It was about my daughter.
Someone had been watching her.
“How long?””
My voice came out quiet.
Vanessa looked at me.
“What?””
“How long has someone been watching us?””
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“You found Emily’s journal three days ago.””
“Yes.””
“And then someone contacted me today.””
“I didn’t tell anyone.””
“Are you sure?””
Her face hardened.
“Yes.””
Normally, I would have questioned her.
After everything that happened, trust didn’t come easily.
But the fear in her eyes was real.
This wasn’t an act.
She was scared too.
I looked at Sophie.
She was sitting on Vanessa’s couch, hugging a stuffed rabbit she had brought from home.
She didn’t understand.
She shouldn’t have to.
I walked over and crouched beside her.
“Sweetheart.””
She looked up.
“Yes?””
“Did anyone talk to you today?””
She frowned.
“Like who?””
“Anyone you don’t know?””
She thought carefully.
“No.””
“Anyone ask you questions?””
She shook her head.
Then she paused.
“What about the lady?””
My heart jumped.
“What lady?””
“The one near the back door.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“What lady?””
Sophie hugged the rabbit tighter.
“She had a blue coat.””
My voice lowered.
“When did you see her?””
“Before I came to find you.””
“Did she talk to you?””
Sophie nodded.
“What did she say?””
Sophie looked uncomfortable.
“She asked if I was Sophie.””
The room went silent.
I felt something cold move through me.
“What did you say?””
“I said yes.””
“What did she do?””
“She smiled.””
My hands tightened.
“What else?””
“She said…”
Sophie stopped.
“What?””
“She said, ‘Your mommy would be proud that you’re brave.’”
I froze.
Vanessa looked shocked.
“She knew Emily?””
I didn’t answer.
Because I didn’t know.
And that terrified me.
Sophie continued.
“She gave me this.””
She reached into the pocket of her flower-girl dress.
I hadn’t noticed she still had something there.
She pulled out a small silver key.
My face changed.
“What is that?””
Sophie shrugged.
“She said Daddy would know.””
I took the key.
A tiny engraving was carved into the metal.
E.C.
Emily Carter.
My breathing stopped.
Emily’s key.
I knew it.
I had seen it hundreds of times.
She kept it on a necklace.
A necklace she wore every day.
The necklace that was never found after the accident.
“Where did you get this?””
Sophie looked at me.
“The lady gave it to me.””
“When?””
“Right before I ran to you.””
I stood.
The room felt smaller.
Someone had approached my daughter.
Someone connected to Emily.
Someone who knew enough to give her something I thought was gone forever.
Vanessa whispered:
“Daniel…”
I turned.
“What?””
“Maybe the missing page…”
I looked at the key.
Then the journal.
Then the photo.
Everything connected.
Emily had hidden something.
Someone had found it.
And now they were trying to scare me away.
My phone buzzed again.
Another message.
This time, no photo.
Just words.
STOP ASKING QUESTIONS.
THE NEXT PERSON WHO GETS HURT WON’T BE YOUR WIFE.
I stared at the screen.
Vanessa saw it.
Her hand covered her mouth.
“They threatened Sophie.””
I nodded.
For the first time all day, Vanessa and I were afraid of the same thing.
Not losing each other.
Not losing the wedding.
Not losing some imagined future.
Losing Sophie.
I grabbed my keys.
“We’re leaving.””
Vanessa stood.
“Where?””
“Somewhere safe.””
She hesitated.
“Daniel.””
I looked at her.
“I know you don’t trust me.””
“That’s an understatement.””
She accepted it.
“But whoever did this wants you angry at me.””
I said nothing.
“They wanted you to believe I was the only threat.””
I looked at her.
“What are you saying?””
“I’m saying maybe someone wanted the wedding destroyed.””
I thought about it.
The timing.
The suitcase.
The note.
The envelope.
Everything happened exactly ten minutes before I was supposed to marry Vanessa.
Almost like someone wanted the explosion to happen in public.
Someone wanted witnesses.
Someone wanted me to lose control.
Then I remembered something.
The first note.
CAR ARRIVES 4:15.
ONE SUITCASE ONLY.
DON’T MAKE A SCENE.
The handwriting.
I had assumed it was Vanessa.
But I never actually saw her write it.
A terrible thought entered my mind.
“What if you didn’t write the note?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“I didn’t.””
The answer came instantly.
Too instantly.
I studied her face.
And for once, I believed her.
Then Sophie’s voice interrupted.
“Dad?””
I turned.
She was holding the suitcase.
The pink suitcase.
But now it was open.
And something had fallen out.
A small photograph.
I walked over.
Picked it up.
The picture was old.
Faded.
It showed Emily.
Holding Sophie as a baby.
But someone had written something on the back.
Five words.
May you like
Words that made my entire body go cold.
“Ask Daniel about the night she died.””
