Chapter 6: Open Last
Chapter 6: Open Last
No one reached for the mouse.
The words on the screen held everyone in place.
OPEN LAST.
Emily had written those words herself.
She had wanted this folder to be the very last thing anyone saw.
Detective Harris looked at me.
"This decision is yours."
I stared at the screen.
My hands were trembling.
For the first time since Emily's funeral, I was afraid to learn the truth.
Not because I doubted her.
Because I was beginning to believe every warning she had left behind.
Grace gently placed a hand on my shoulder.
"She wanted you to know."
I nodded.
Slowly.
Then I clicked the folder.
The screen flickered.
Only one file appeared.
Its title was simple.
For Daniel Only.
A password box popped onto the screen.
The room fell silent again.
Grace frowned.
"I don't know the password."
Neither did I.
Emily had never hidden anything from me.
At least...
That was what I used to believe.
The technician looked at Harris.
"I can crack it."
"How long?"
"A few hours."
I shook my head.
"No."
Everyone looked at me.
"Emily wouldn't leave something this important protected by a random password."
"There has to be a reason."
Grace suddenly looked toward Noah.
He was sitting quietly on the couch with his dinosaur blanket.
He hadn't said a word in nearly twenty minutes.
His small voice broke the silence.
"I know Mommy's favorite word."
Every adult turned toward him.
I knelt beside him.
"What was it?"
He smiled sadly.
"Firefly."
Grace blinked.
"Emily loved fireflies."
Noah nodded.
"She said they always find their way home."
The technician typed the word.
Firefly.
The screen rejected it.
Incorrect Password.
Noah frowned.
"I forgot."
He closed his eyes.
Then he smiled again.
"No."
"It wasn't Firefly."
"It was..."
"...our secret."
I felt my heartbeat quicken.
"What secret?"
Noah looked at me.
"The game."
Grace gasped softly.
"The treasure game."
I suddenly remembered.
Every Friday night, Emily had created little treasure hunts around the house.
The final clue always ended the same way.
She would whisper the answer into Noah's ear.
Only the two of them knew it.
"What was the answer?" I asked.
Noah grinned for the first time all day.
"You always forget."
He climbed off the couch.
Walked over to the desk.
Then slowly typed eight letters.
Moonbeam.
He pressed Enter.
The folder opened instantly.
Grace covered her mouth.
Emily had trusted Noah with the password.
Not because he could understand it.
Because no one else would ever think to ask a five-year-old.
A video filled the screen.
Emily appeared once again.
This time...
She wasn't crying.
She wasn't frightened.
She looked determined.
"If you're watching this..."
"...then I'm gone."
She paused.
"And Daniel is finally close to the truth."
My chest tightened.
Emily looked directly into the camera.
"I know you'll blame yourself."
"Please don't."
"You didn't fail me."
"You were deceived."
She smiled softly.
"You always believed the best in people."
"That's one of the reasons I fell in love with you."
Tears blurred my vision.
Emily continued.
"But the people around us..."
"...counted on that kindness."
She reached toward the camera.
Holding a leather notebook.
"I've written down everything."
"Every meeting."
"Every phone call."
"Every transfer."
"Every lie."
She held the notebook closer.
"If this notebook isn't with the memory card..."
"...someone took it."
Grace whispered,
"The journal..."
Emily nodded as though she could hear her.
"I hid it where only one person would think to look."
She smiled.
"Grace."
Grace's eyes widened.
Emily continued.
"You once told me no one ever searches a place they clean every day."
Grace suddenly froze.
"Oh no."
"What is it?" I asked.
She looked at me.
"The laundry room."
"I helped Emily renovate it."
"She built a false compartment behind the old detergent cabinet."
Without another word, Grace ran from the study.
I followed.
Detective Harris and two officers hurried behind us.
Matthew stayed where he was.
For the first time all afternoon...
He looked nervous.
Very nervous.
We reached the laundry room.
It looked ordinary.
White cabinets.
A washing machine.
A dryer.
Shelves filled with detergent.
Grace walked directly to the oldest cabinet.
She removed three bottles.
Then pressed against the back panel.
Nothing happened.
She frowned.
"I know it's here."
She pressed harder.
A quiet click echoed through the room.
The back panel slid open.
Everyone stared.
Inside rested a weathered brown journal.
And beside it...
A small locked metal box.
Grace carefully picked up the journal.
My name was written across the cover.
Daniel.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Emily's familiar handwriting filled every page.
Neat.
Organized.
Precise.
Each page carried a date.
And beneath every date...
A detailed record.
Meetings.
Names.
Conversations.
Amounts of money.
License plates.
Phone numbers.
Everything.
Detective Harris quietly flipped through several pages.
"This is extraordinary."
"It could establish years of criminal activity."
I turned another page.
Then another.
One sentence stopped me cold.
March 18
Matthew admitted he was in love with me.
The room became silent.
Grace looked away.
I kept reading.
I rejected him immediately.
He apologized.
He promised never to mention it again.
My hands tightened around the journal.
The next entry made it worse.
April 2
Matthew warned me not to marry Daniel.
He said I belonged beside the brother who truly understood me.
I could barely breathe.
The next page.
April 11
Matthew kissed me without permission.
I slapped him.
He cried.
Then he smiled.
A chill ran down my spine.
Emily had underlined the final sentence three times.
That smile frightened me.
Detective Harris slowly closed the journal.
"I think we now understand the motive."
I nodded silently.
"It was never just money."
"No."
"He wanted your life."
Grace whispered.
"He wanted everything Daniel had."
An officer suddenly entered the laundry room at a run.
"Detective!"
Harris turned.
"What happened?"
"We just received the first forensic report."
"And?"
"The black SUV from Emily's recordings..."
"...belongs to a private investigation company."
Harris frowned.
"Who hired them?"
The officer swallowed.
"They were paid through Carter Financial Holdings."
Every eye turned toward Matthew.
He remained standing in the doorway.
No one had noticed him arrive.
He looked at the journal in my hands.
Then at me.
His expression was empty.
Completely empty.
Finally...
He spoke.
"I warned her."
No one answered.
"I begged Emily to leave."
Grace stared at him in disbelief.
"You expect us to believe that?"
Matthew slowly shook his head.
"No."
"I begged her..."
"...because she found people much more dangerous than me."
The room froze.
Detective Harris narrowed his eyes.
"What people?"
Matthew looked directly at him.
"You think I'm the villain."
He gave a bitter laugh.
"I'm not."
He slowly pointed toward the locked metal box Emily had hidden beside the journal.
May you like
"If you open that box..."
"...you'll discover the names of the people who actually ordered Emily to die."
