Chapter 15 - UNFINISHED BUSINESS
I stood there a long time, the white rose heavy in my hand. The handwriting was identical. The message unmistakable. But Marcus was locked away. Maximum security. No visitors. No communication. There was no way he could have sent this.
Which meant… he hadn’t been working alone. Not entirely. There had been someone else. A third person. The one who had been here. The one watching us now.
I walked back to the cabin slowly, mind racing. Marcus had said I’m the only surviving heir. But what if that hadn’t been true? What if he had an accomplice—a partner he hadn’t betrayed, even when cornered? Someone who knew everything. Someone who had stayed hidden.
Clara opened the door before I even knocked. Lily stood behind her, eyes wide.
"Daddy, you look scared," she said.
I forced a smile, tucking the rose into my pocket. "Just thinking, baby. Nothing to be afraid of."
But I was afraid. More than I had been at the boathouse. Because then I had known who my enemy was. Now… I was fighting a shadow.
That evening, after Lily was asleep, I called Detective Hayes. I told him about the rose. About the note. About my fear that Marcus wasn’t the only one.
Hayes was quiet a long time. Then he sighed.
"Adrian… Marcus has no contact with the outside world. No phone. No mail. No visitors. His accounts are frozen. Every movement monitored. It’s impossible."
"Someone was there," I insisted. "Someone left that rose. Someone knew exactly where we were."
"Anyone could have known you’d go to the cabin," Hayes said gently. "It’s public property. It’s been in your family for generations. You’ve spoken about it publicly. It could be a reporter. A trespasser. A copycat."
"It’s not a copycat," I said. "The handwriting was identical. Exactly."
"Handwriting can be copied," Hayes said. "Or… Adrian… could it be someone from the past? Someone who wants to frighten you now that you’re vulnerable?"
"Who?" I demanded.
"I don’t know," Hayes admitted. "But I’ll send a unit to the cabin tomorrow. I’ll have them sweep the area. Check for cameras. Check for tracks. But… be careful. If there’s someone else… they’ve been very good at hiding. All this time."
We ended the call. I sat in the quiet living room, watching Lily sleep, Teddy resting on her chest. Grace had said trust no one blindly. She had said look to the people closest to you.
I thought back through everything. The trial. The testimony. The evidence. Marcus had kept his mouth shut about everyone else. He had taken full responsibility for everything. He had protected someone.
I pulled out my phone and called Elena. She was in the facility now, calls monitored, voice clear but distant.
"Adrian? Is something wrong?"
"Elena," I said. "When Marcus was working… did he have anyone else? A partner? Someone he trusted more than you? Someone he kept hidden?"
Elena was quiet. Then she said, "I asked him once. Who he really worked for. He laughed and said… I answer to the one who taught me everything."
My heart skipped a beat. "Who?"
"He wouldn’t say. But…" Elena hesitated. "Once I heard him talking on the phone. Very quiet. He said: Everything is going according to plan. They’ll never suspect. Because they’re looking at the wrong generation."
Wrong generation.
My blood turned to ice.
"Elena… our parents…"
"Our father died ten years ago," Elena said quietly. "But our mother…"
My mother. She lived alone in the old family home. Quiet. Gentle. Frail. The woman who had held us all when we were sick, who had baked cookies, who had cried at Grace’s funeral.
*They’re looking at the wrong generation.*
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"I need to go," I said abruptly.
"Adrian—be careful," Elena said. "Whoever this is… Marcus was terrified of them. More than anything. Even more than prison."
