"She died because she was carrying it."
Her hand slipped from Daniel's arm.
And the woman who had kept Helen Parker's secret for fifteen years took her final breath.
Daniel looked at the notebook.
The truth was no longer buried.
Someone was willing to kill anyone who tried to uncover it.
And the next target would almost certainly be him.
The ambulance arrived seventeen minutes after Daniel called for help.
By then, Margaret Parker was dead.
Daniel stood outside the house while paramedics covered her body. Emily and Lily sat inside his vehicle, both shaken by what they had witnessed.
He knew the police would soon arrive.
And he knew he couldn't trust them.
Michael Bennett would probably be among the first officers on the scene.
Daniel looked at the road.
A familiar patrol vehicle turned into the driveway.
Michael stepped out.
He was wearing his usual uniform, his expression calm and professional.
"Daniel! What happened?"
Daniel watched him approach.
"Someone shot at the house."
Michael glanced toward the broken window.
"Is everyone okay?"
"Margaret Parker is dead."
Michael's expression changed for only a moment.
Then he looked toward the ambulance.
"That's terrible."
Daniel studied his face.
"You know her?"
"No. Should I?"
"She was the sister of Helen Parker."
Michael nodded slowly.
"Right. The woman who identified Emily Carter's body."
Daniel waited.
Michael looked toward the car.
"Who's inside?"
"Someone I'm protecting."
"Emily?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Michael took a step closer.
"Daniel, we need to get you away from here. This isn't safe."
"I know."
"I can arrange protection."
Daniel almost laughed.
"That's generous."
Michael frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Daniel leaned closer.
"It means I don't know who I can trust anymore."
For a moment, the two men stared at each other.
Then Michael smiled.
"You're exhausted. You've been dealing with this case for too long. Let me help."
Daniel looked at the deputy's face.
He remembered Sarah's recording.
He remembered Thomas's warning.
And he remembered the photograph of Michael standing beside Richard Carter.
"Tell me something, Michael. Where were you fifteen years ago on the night Emily disappeared?"
Michael's smile disappeared.
"Why?"
"Just answer."
"I was working."
"Where?"
"At the station."
"Who can confirm that?"
Michael sighed.
"Daniel, what is this?"
"An investigation."
Michael's eyes hardened.
"Then I suggest you investigate the people who are actually responsible instead of questioning your own department."
He turned and walked toward his patrol vehicle.
Before getting inside, he looked back.
"By the way, Sarah would be disappointed to see what you've become."
Daniel felt a surge of anger.
But he didn't move.
Michael drove away.
Daniel knew the deputy had recognized the accusation.
And he had just confirmed that Sarah's name was still capable of unsettling him.
That night, Daniel made a decision.
He would stop using the sheriff's department.
Instead, he contacted an old friend named Agent Rebecca Stone, a state investigator who had worked with him on several major cases before transferring to another district.
Rebecca answered on the first ring.
"Daniel Hayes. That's a name I haven't heard in a while."
"I need your help."
"What's happened?"
"I have evidence of a murder conspiracy involving a county deputy, a medical examiner, and a businessman who was supposed to be dead."
There was silence.
"You're serious?"
"Completely."
"Do you have evidence?"
"Some. But I need protection for two witnesses."
Rebecca asked for the location.
Daniel gave her a meeting point outside town.
"Don't tell anyone," he added.
"I won't."
Before ending the call, Rebecca said something unexpected.
"Daniel, there's something I should tell you. I received a request from your department yesterday asking me to investigate you."
Daniel frowned.
"Me?"
"Yes. They claimed you had taken evidence from an active investigation and might be suffering from psychological instability."
Daniel felt his stomach tighten.
"Who submitted the request?"
"Michael Bennett."
Daniel closed his eyes.
Michael wasn't simply trying to stop him.
He was preparing to destroy his credibility.
If Daniel accused him of murder, the department could claim he was unstable, compromised, or suffering from grief-related delusions.
He would lose his badge.
His authority.
And potentially his freedom.
"Rebecca, listen carefully. I need you to protect Emily and Lily. Don't let anyone from my department near them."
"I understand."
"And Rebecca?"
"Yes?"
"If I disappear, everything you need is in a storage unit at the old railway station."
Rebecca paused.
"Daniel, what are you getting yourself into?"
He looked toward the darkness outside his motel window.
"Something I should have finished fifteen years ago."
At midnight, Daniel returned to the sheriff's office.
He entered through the rear door using his personal access code. The building was empty, but the lights in the records room were still on.
He went directly to the old investigation archive.
The original Emily Carter file was missing.
He searched the shelves again.
Nothing.
Someone had removed it.
Daniel checked the computer system and discovered that the file had been accessed at 11:42 p.m.
The user ID belonged to Michael Bennett.
He copied the access logs onto a portable drive.
Then he searched the department's internal communication records.
At first, he found nothing unusual.
But when he filtered messages sent fifteen years earlier, he discovered an archived email chain between Michael and an unknown address.
The subject line read:
PROJECT SILENT WITNESS.
Daniel opened it.
The first message contained a list of names.
Emily Carter.
Laura Mitchell.
Thomas Reed.
Helen Parker.
Sarah Hayes.
Beside each name was a status.
Some were marked CLOSED.
Others were marked ELIMINATED.
Daniel felt sick.
Then he reached the final name.
DANIEL HAYES β STATUS: ACTIVE.
A new message appeared.
It had been sent only three minutes earlier.
"The sheriff has recovered the original evidence. Proceed with the final arrangement."
Daniel's hands began to tremble.
He heard footsteps behind him.
He immediately turned off the computer screen and reached for his weapon.
A figure appeared in the doorway.
"Don't move."
It was Deputy Michael Bennett.
But he wasn't alone.
Two armed men stood behind him.