Emily couldn't move.
"Thomas killed Dad?"
Margaret nodded, crying silently.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"You just said he killed him."
"That's what your father believed."
Emily stared at her.
"That's not the same thing."
"No."
Margaret sat on the edge of the bed.
"It's not."
For the first time that day, Emily saw something beneath her mother's fear.
Guilt.
"Tell me everything."
Margaret wiped her eyes.
"Twenty-six years ago, your father discovered that money was being moved out of Rosewood."
"By Richard."
"Yes."
"And Thomas was helping him?"
"No."
Margaret looked down.
"Thomas was investigating Richard."
"Then why did Dad suspect him?"
"Because the night your father disappeared, Thomas was the last person seen with him."
Emily's eyes narrowed.
"What happened that night?"
"They argued."
"About what?"
"Thomas kept telling your father that Richard wasn't acting alone."
Emily remembered the recording.
"There was another person."
Margaret nodded.
"Yes."
"Who?"
"David wouldn't believe him."
"Why?"
"Because the person Thomas accused was someone David loved."
Emily whispered,
"Who?"
Margaret looked at her.
"Me."
Emily felt as if the room had disappeared.
"You?"
"Thomas believed I had been helping Richard."
"Did you?"
"No."
"Then why did he think that?"
Margaret's eyes filled again.
"Because Richard had forged documents using my name."
Emily remembered the transfer document.
Her mother's signature.
"That wasn't your signature."
Margaret shook her head.
"No."
"Then why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Because Richard threatened you."
Emily went still.
"He knew about your school. Your friends. Where you lived."
Margaret's voice broke.
"He told me if I went to the police, you'd disappear."
Emily closed her eyes.
For the first time, the family's silence made sense.
Not betrayal.
Fear.
But there was still one question.
"What happened to Dad?"
Margaret stared at the floor.
"David had evidence."
"What evidence?"
"A ledger."
"Where is it?"
"I don't know."
"Who had it?"
"Thomas."
Emily stood.
"Then Thomas didn't kill Dad."
"No."
Margaret looked up.
"Thomas tried to save him."
Emily's chest tightened.
"What happened at the warehouse?"
Margaret took a long breath.
"Richard arrived."
"And?"
"He had a gun."
Emily said nothing.
"Richard wanted the ledger. David refused to give it to him."
"What happened?"
"Thomas attacked Richard."
Margaret's voice became quieter.
"I heard a gunshot."
Emily's eyes widened.
"Who was shot?"
"I don't know."
"Mom."
"I ran."
"You left Dad?"
"I was terrified."
Margaret covered her face.
"When I came back, David was gone. Thomas was gone. Richard was gone."
"And you never called the police?"
"I did."
"Then?"
"Richard had already called them."
Emily frowned.
"What did he tell them?"
"That David had stolen money and fled."
Emily understood.
"Richard controlled the story."
Margaret nodded.
"And Thomas?"
"He disappeared."
"Why?"
"Because he knew Richard would kill him."
Emily sat beside her mother.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Emily remembered something.
"The photograph."
"What about it?"
"Jack said the warning wasn't necessarily from Dad."
Margaret looked at her.
Emily studied the old picture again.
Three men were visible.
But there was something strange.
The photograph had been cut along one side.
Someone had removed part of it.
"Mom."
"What?"
"Who was standing beside Richard?"
Margaret stared at the picture.
Her face changed.
"I don't know."
"You do."
"No."
"Mom."
Margaret looked away.
Emily turned the photograph over.
There was a faint indentation where something had once been attached.
A second photograph.
She pressed her fingers against the paper.
Something was hidden beneath the backing.
She tore it open.
A smaller photograph fell onto the bed.
Emily picked it up.
It showed four people.
David.
Thomas.
Richard.
And a young woman.
Emily stared.
She recognized the woman immediately.
Her mother's best friend.
Helen Brooks.
Emily whispered,
"Helen."
Margaret stood abruptly.
"No."
"She was there."
"I told you, I don't know."
Emily looked at the photograph.
Helen was holding something.
A folder.
And on the folder was the Rosewood logo.
Emily's phone buzzed.
A new message.
FROM HELEN.
YOU FOUND IT.
Emily looked at her mother.
"How does Helen know?"
Margaret didn't answer.
Another message appeared.
COME TO THE OLD ROSEWOOD WAREHOUSE ALONE.
Emily stared at the screen.
Then a final message arrived.
I HAVE WHAT YOUR FATHER LEFT BEHIND.
Emily looked at her mother.
"I have to go."
"No."
"Mom, this is the truth."
"It could be a trap."
"Maybe."
Margaret grabbed her arm.
"Emily, please."
Emily looked into her mother's eyes.
"You spent twenty-six years protecting me from this."
"I did."
"But now I'm going to find out what you were protecting me from."
Emily left.
Daniel was waiting outside.
"I heard."
"You were listening?"
"I was worried."
Emily showed him the messages.
Daniel's face tightened.
"You're not going alone."
"I wasn't planning to."
They drove to the abandoned Rosewood warehouse.
The building was dark.
Empty.
Silent.
Emily stepped inside.
"Hello?"
No answer.
Then a light switched on.
Helen Brooks stood at the far end of the warehouse.
She was older now, elegant, composed.
And she was holding a black ledger.
Emily stopped.
"You knew my father."
Helen nodded.
"I knew him very well."
"Did you help Richard?"
Helen's eyes lowered.
"Yes."
Daniel stepped forward.
"Why?"
Helen looked at him.
"Because Richard promised to save my son."
Emily frowned.
"Your son?"
Helen looked at Daniel.
Daniel froze.
Helen whispered,
"Richard wasn't Daniel's father."
Daniel's face went white.
"What?"
Helen looked at Emily.
"Your father was."
Silence.
Emily stared at Daniel.
Helen opened the ledger.
"David Carter had another child."
She looked at Daniel.
"Your fiancé."