The old Blackwood mansion stood in silence, its walls dark with ash and memory.
Even after all these months, the smell of smoke still lingered faint, but familiar.
I stood at the broken gate, staring at the house that had once been my pride.
Now, it was nothing but a grave of secrets.
I took a slow breath. "Let's see what you've been hiding."
The floor creaked under my steps as I walked inside.
Dust floated in the air, catching the light from my small flashlight.
Pieces of burnt furniture lay scattered like the ghosts of another life.
Every corner whispered my name.
I remembered laughter, the sound of Adrian's voice, Clara's smile… and the moment it all burned away.
I climbed the staircase carefully, my heart pounding.
Half the steps were cracked, but I knew exactly where I was going the study.
That was where I'd died.
The door was still half-burned, but I pushed it open.
The room was cold, quiet, empty.
Almost.
My eyes caught a faint shimmer near the fireplace something metallic buried under the ashes.
I knelt down and brushed away the debris.
A small silver key.
It looked new. Too new to have been here all this time.
Someone had been here recently.
I stood, turning the key in my hand.
There was only one place it could fit the hidden drawer in my old desk.
I crossed the room, knelt down, and felt along the edge of the wood until I found it.
The lock clicked open.
Inside was a small box wrapped in black cloth.
My breath caught.
This was the same kind of box the letter had been hidden in.
I unfolded the cloth slowly.
Inside was a USB drive.
No name. No label.
But when I looked closer, something was scratched on the side three letters.
L.D.H.
Lydia. Daniel. Hale.
I froze. It couldn't be a coincidence.
A sudden sound made me spin around.
Footsteps. Slow, careful, coming from the hall.
I turned off my flashlight and held my breath.
The steps stopped just outside the door.
A shadow crossed the wall tall, familiar.
Then a voice.
Low, steady, unmistakable.
"Emma. I knew you'd come back."
Adrian.
I stepped out of the dark. "How did you know I'd be here?"
He looked around the room, his expression unreadable.
"Because this is where it all began. And where it all ended."
His gaze fell to the box in my hand. "You found it."
"You knew about this?"
He nodded slowly. "I was the one who left the key."
My pulse quickened. "Why?"
"Because you deserve to see the truth for yourself," he said quietly. "Everything you've been told about Clara, Daniel, Lydia… it's only half the story."
I frowned. "Then tell me the rest."
He looked at me for a long moment, then said, "Not here. Take the drive home. Watch it. Then you'll understand why you died."
His tone was calm, but there was a shadow in his eyes something he wasn't saying.
I wanted to demand answers, to scream at him, but something in his voice stopped me.
For the first time, I saw not the cold billionaire everyone feared but a man carrying a secret too heavy to speak.
He turned to leave, but before he stepped out, he said one last thing:
"When you watch it, Emma… remember who you used to be."
After he left, I stood there alone, the drive in my hand.
The silence of the house felt heavier now like it was holding its breath.
I looked around one last time, then whispered, "You can't hide from me anymore."
And as I walked out, the wind carried a faint echo my own voice, soft and distant, from another time.
"Trust no one, not even the one who saved you."