CHAPTER 6 – The Arsonist Was Standing Right Beside Them
No one moved.
The parking lot became so silent that even the sound of distant traffic seemed to disappear.
Ryan stared at Evelyn as if the world had just shattered beneath his feet.
"You... adopted me?"
Tears rolled down Evelyn's face.
"I never wanted you to feel different. To me, you were my son."
Ryan's lips trembled.
"Then... who were my real parents?"
Evelyn slowly opened the old folder.
Inside were newspaper clippings, police reports, and faded photographs from nearly thirty years earlier.
One picture showed a small house completely consumed by flames.
Another showed a frightened little boy wrapped in a firefighter's blanket.
Ryan.
"The fire was ruled an accident," Evelyn said quietly.
"But someone paid a lot of money to make sure the investigation disappeared."
The detective stepped closer.
"You reopened the case?"
Evelyn nodded.
"Three months ago."
She pulled out a final photograph.
It showed a young woman standing outside the burning house.
The moment Sophia saw the picture...
She went completely pale.
Ryan noticed immediately.
"Sophia..."
She forced a laugh.
"I've never seen that photo before."
Evelyn walked toward her.
"No?"
She turned the photograph over.
On the back was a handwritten note.
'Taken two minutes before the fire began.'
Sophia's hands started shaking.
The detective looked at her.
"Why are you nervous?"
Before she could answer—
A weak voice came from behind the crowd.
"I can tell you why."
Everyone turned.
An elderly man slowly stepped out of another vehicle using a cane.
His face was scarred from old burns.
Ryan frowned.
"I know you..."
The man nodded.
"You should."
"I pulled you out of that fire."
The former firefighter looked directly at Sophia.
"I also saw the woman who poured gasoline around that house."
Sophia screamed.
"He's lying!"
The old firefighter raised one trembling finger.
"I'll never forget her face..."
"...because she had the same star-shaped birthmark behind her left ear."
Every eye turned toward Sophia.
Her hair had slipped behind her ear during the argument.
The birthmark was there.
Exactly where he said.
Ryan staggered backward.
"No..."
Sophia burst into tears.
"You don't understand!"
Ryan shouted,
"Tell me the truth!"
Sophia finally broke.
"I wasn't trying to kill your parents!"
Everyone froze.
"I was only supposed to scare them into leaving the house..."
"But the fire spread too fast."
Emily gasped.
Evelyn closed her eyes in pain.
The detective immediately handcuffed Sophia.
"You have the right to remain silent."
As officers led her away, Sophia suddenly laughed.
A slow...
Terrifying...
Laugh.
She turned toward Ryan one last time.
"You still don't get it, do you?"
Ryan stared at her.
"What are you talking about?"
Sophia smiled through her tears.
"I wasn't working alone..."
She looked directly at Evelyn.
"...The person who ordered your parents to be burned alive..."
"...is someone you've trusted for over twenty-five years."
May you like
Then she pointed toward the last person anyone expected.
The detective.
