PART 10
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“He was the person moving the money.”
The room became silent.
I felt sick.
“My father-in-law?”
“Yes.”
The director nodded.
“He controlled the accounts.”
I turned another page.
Then I saw something that made my hands freeze.
A payment six years ago.
The date was exactly three days before Daniel died.
Beside it was a note:
Final payment. Problem resolved.
My heart stopped.
“That’s the day Daniel died.”
Susan nodded.
“He discovered the ledger.”
“So they killed him.”
The elderly man shook his head.
“We can’t say that without proof.”
I looked at him.
“But Daniel’s letter…”
“He suspected what would happen,” Susan said. “But suspicion isn’t evidence.”
I understood.
Daniel had wanted the truth exposed properly.
Not through revenge.
Through proof.
I closed the ledger.
“What happened to his father?”
The director looked away.
“He died two years ago.”
I stared at her.
“Then we’re too late.”
“No.”
Susan shook her head.
“We’re not.”
She pointed to the ledger.
“Because the people who helped him are still alive.”
The director looked at the floor.
“One of them is sitting on the board of this camp.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who?”
Before she could answer, the cabin door above us opened.
Footsteps echoed down the staircase.
Everyone froze.
The director whispered:
“He followed us.”
“Who?”
She looked at me.
“The current camp chairman.”
The elderly man grabbed the flashlight.
“Everyone stay behind me.”
The footsteps grew louder.
A man appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
He was wearing a dark suit.
He looked completely calm.
He glanced around the room.
Then at me.
Then at Mia.
Finally, he smiled.
“Rebecca.”
I recognized him.
He had greeted me when I arrived at camp.
He had been standing beside the director that morning.
I remembered him saying:
“Welcome to Pine Ridge.”
My stomach turned.
“You.”
He nodded.
“You found the room.”
The director stepped forward.
“You knew about it?”
He smiled.
“I knew about everything.”
Mia moved closer to me.
The man looked at her.
“You’ve caused quite a problem, young lady.”
I stepped between them.
“Don’t talk to my daughter.”
He laughed softly.
“You still don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Your daughter didn’t discover this room by accident.”
I stared at him.
“What are you saying?”
He looked at Susan.
Then at the director.
Then at me.
“Someone wanted her to find it.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who?”
He pointed toward the wall.
“There is another passage.”
The director gasped.
“What?”
He smiled.
“The passage Daniel used.”
He pressed a hidden button beneath the table.
A section of the wall moved.
Behind it was another corridor.
At the end was a small room.
Inside sat a chair.
A desk.
And hundreds of photographs.
I stepped inside.
Every photograph showed Mia.
At school.
At soccer practice.
At the grocery store.
Walking beside me.
Getting into the car.
Sleeping at home.
My blood froze.
Someone had been watching my daughter.
For years.
I turned toward the chairman.
“Why?”
He looked at Mia.
“Because your daughter was never supposed to survive long enough to find the truth.”
I grabbed Mia.
“Run!”
We rushed toward the stairs.
The elderly man blocked the chairman.
The director grabbed the ledger.
Susan followed us.
We ran.
Up the stairs.
Out of Cabin Seven.
Across the campgrounds.
Behind us, we heard shouting.
Then the sound of a vehicle starting.
I reached my car.
“Mia, get inside!”
She climbed into the back seat.
Susan got into the passenger seat.
The elderly man jumped into his car.
The director stood beside us.
“Go!”
I started the engine.
We drove.
I didn’t stop until we were miles away.
My hands were shaking.
Mia was crying silently.
Susan stared out the window.
Finally, Mia whispered:
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Is he going to find us?”
I looked at her in the rearview mirror.
“No.”
I couldn’t promise that.
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