Emil went quiet for a moment, then tried again. “Sometimes it’s not that simple. Sometimes we follow the wrong lead. Sometimes it’s coincidence. And sometimes… we have to let it go.”
Taylor threw the pen across the room. It hit the wall with a dull thunk.
“Emil, you’ve been here from the start.Youhelped find this. This is our guy.”
“It’s time to let go,” he said calmly. “It’s been a year. We’ve got nothing that holds up. Even if we find him, we can’t make it stick.”
“No.” Her voice went tight. “He’s our guy.”
Emil stood, deciding not to push further. He turned toward the door—
And the phone rang again.
Taylor lunged for it.
“Norwald Police—Sergeant Taylor speaking.”
Emil paused as her expression shifted.
“Silent River Plantation burned to the ground last night?” Her fingers tightened around the cord. “Tell me everything.”
Epilogue – Camille
Ididn’t get the ending we planned.
But it was still an ending I was happy with.
Driving the knife into Reed’s heart shocked me. I don’t know where the strength came from—but it was enough. His eyes met my own once, just before the end, and he whispered my name.
“Cami.”
I collapsed, sobbing, trying to scrub the blood from my hands into the rug until my palms burned raw.
Erich didn’t rush me. Didn’t tell me to hurry. He only waited.
Then he lifted me from the floor and held me until I could breathe again—until I understood what it meant.
I was free.
It was nearly two in the morning when he poured gasoline across the dining room. He wiped down the lighter, careful, precise, holding it through his sleeve before passing it to me.
“Don’t touch it directly.”
I wrapped my sleeve over my hand, took it—and threw it.
It struck Reed’s body and fell into his lap. The fire caught quickly on his piss-covered slacks, climbing over him in seconds.
We watched from the Rolls-Royce as the flames spread, glowing through the windows. When smoke began to pour out and the walls darkened, we drove.
We didn’t stop until dawn touched the hills outside Birmingham. We pulled into a quiet state park and rested.
No words. No sex. No passionate kissing. Quiet.
Erich held me in the backseat while I traced absent patterns along his chest, trying to process everything.
This wasn’t like Thomas.
This wasn’t an accident.
