Chapter 1
“Grandma isn't telling the truth!”
“Mommy didn't leave us the way Grandma said!”
My six-year-old daughter's voice suddenly echoed across the funeral gathering.
Every conversation stopped.
I had just returned to Silver Creek after spending three days completely unreachable during a high-security transportation assignment for the logistics company where I worked.
Inside my travel bag was a green silk scarf I had bought for my wife, Clara...
And a brand-new doll for our daughter, Lily.
During the entire drive home, I imagined both of them standing at the front door waiting for me.
Instead...
I saw funeral flowers covering the yard.
Rows of folding chairs beneath a white canopy.
And a black mourning ribbon tied around our front gate.
A large memorial portrait of Clara stood beside the entrance.
My mother, Teresa, rushed toward me with tearful eyes and wrapped her arms around me.
“You're too late, Alex.”
“Clara passed away almost three days ago.”
For several seconds, I couldn't even understand what she was saying.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Your phone couldn't be reached,” she replied.
“Your supervisor, Mr. Vance, told us your assignment couldn't be interrupted.”
I rushed inside.
Clara's coffin stood in the center of our living room.
The funeral was almost ready to begin.
My Aunt Beatrice, who owned the local funeral home, checked her watch nervously.
“We need to leave for the cemetery before seven,” she said.
“We shouldn't delay things.”
“Clara had been under a lot of pressure lately.”
“It would be better to let her rest peacefully.”
I stared at her.
“Why is everyone in such a hurry?”
Nobody answered.
Near the staircase sat my father, Arthur.
After suffering a stroke, he relied on a wheelchair and struggled to speak clearly.
But his mind was still completely sharp.
The moment he saw me, he struck the armrest three times with his hand...
Then stared urgently toward the second floor.
My mother moved beside Clara's coffin and began crying loudly.
“Why did you leave us, Clara?”
“We all cared about you.”
Suddenly, Lily pulled away from her grandmother.
Her small hand pointed directly toward Teresa.
“Grandma isn't telling the truth!”
“Uncle Derek forced Mommy's door open!”
“He scared her!”
“He took her phone!”
“And Grandma wouldn't let us leave the room!”
Across the living room, my younger brother Derek immediately lost all color in his face.
“Lily doesn't understand what she saw,” my mother said quickly.
“She has been through something frightening.”
I knelt in front of my daughter.
“Sweetheart... tell Daddy what happened.”
Lily wrapped both arms around my neck.
“Mommy kept calling your name.”
“Uncle Derek wouldn't let her go downstairs.”
“Grandma closed the door and wouldn't open it.”
“Mommy kept asking them to call you.”
Behind us, my father struck the side of his wheelchair again.
This time...
He pointed underneath his seat cushion.
Aunt Beatrice immediately stepped between us.
“Alex, this isn't the right time.”
“Let Clara's funeral happen first.”
“You can discuss your family problems afterward.”
Something about those words made every instinct inside me scream that something was wrong.
Without replying, I borrowed a relative's phone and called 911.
My mother hurried toward me.
“Alex, stop!”
“Family problems should stay inside the family!”
I looked directly into her eyes.
“When someone passes away under suspicious circumstances, it isn't just a family problem.”
“The authorities need to know.”
Minutes later...
Police sirens sounded outside.
As officers approached our house, I noticed Aunt Beatrice standing near the hallway, quickly typing a message on her phone.
Just before she turned off the screen, I caught four words:
He's starting to suspect.
At the same moment, Derek quietly moved toward the back staircase.
I stepped in front of him.
“Nobody goes upstairs.”
“Nobody touches anything.”
May you like
Derek stopped.
He lowered his eyes toward the floor.
