CHAPTER 10 — The Confession Written to Destroy Me
Dean Grant survived.
He had been drugged and left beside an empty bottle of sleeping pills.
The supposed confession was written in his handwriting.
It claimed I had blackmailed him into altering university records.
It claimed I had stolen my own research from Ethan.
It claimed I had invented the adoption story to seize my parents’ money.
“It’s ridiculous,” I said.
Daniel didn’t look convinced.
“That doesn’t mean the university board will ignore it.”
Grant remained unconscious.
Until he woke, he couldn’t confirm whether he had written the letter voluntarily.
My father was released pending further investigation.
The slap had been captured on video, but he faced only a minor assault charge.
When he walked out of the police station, reporters surrounded him.
He looked directly into the cameras.
“My daughter is deeply troubled. My wife and I have spent years trying to help her.”
I watched from across the street.
He knew exactly how to appear calm.
Heartbroken.
Reasonable.
My mother stood beside him with red eyes.
“We love Emily,” she whispered. “But she has always struggled with jealousy toward her brother.”
Ethan, standing near me, muttered, “She’s good.”
“She’s had practice.”
A reporter shouted a question about Sarah Holloway.
My father answered without hesitation.
“That woman is an unstable stranger attempting to exploit our family.”
Sarah stepped toward him.
I grabbed her arm.
“Not here.”
He saw us.
For one second, the mask slipped.
He smiled.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
YOU WANT THE ORIGINAL ADOPTION FILE?
COME ALONE.
MIDNIGHT.
OLD HOLLOWAY CLINIC.
Attached was a photograph of a sealed red folder.
Sarah recognized the building.
“My father owned that clinic.”
Daniel read the message.
“It’s a trap.”
“Probably.”
“You’re not going.”
I looked across the street at Richard Bennett.
He was telling cameras how much he loved me.
“I am going.”
That night, I entered the abandoned clinic alone.
The door locked behind me.
Then the lights came on.
May you like
My mother stood at the end of the hallway.
Holding a gun.
