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Once all the other presents have been exchanged, Cipher holds out a gift box to Valli. “Open it. This is from all of us,” he says.

She removes the lid and pulls out the music box. As she lifts its lid, the carousel moves up and spins as music plays. Looped around the mechanical horse is a string with a key attached. Valli pulls the string and removes the key.

“What does it open?” she asks.

“Come and see,” Noa tells her.

We excuse ourselves and take her to the residential part of the island. This house is older and set further back, standing more on its own, away from the other houses. Originally Nixie was going to demolish it since Noa is now staying in the shed with us, but Cipher asked if we could renovate it, and she agreed.

Once we’re gathered out the front of the house, Valli looks up at it.

“This is ours, if you want it to be,” Cipher tells her softly.

Valli cries, saying the house is too much, but Noa grabs her hand and they run up the stairs together as Cipher follows. I watch as they unlock the door.

I never imagined a life for myself outside of the cornfield, but right now there is nowhere else I would rather be than here, with my family.

Chapter Fifteen

Valli

Now that the Christmas Day festivities are over, Nixie has called us all to her office, and honestly, I was wondering when this conversation would happen. Cave takes a seat closest to the wall, pulling me onto his lap. Cipher stands, and Noa sits across from Nixie’s desk.

“I owe you all an explanation. The timeline of your release was not what anyone expected, even though I’m happy you were here for Christmas.”

We all wait for her to continue, as none of us really have anything to say. Cave is here, and that’s all that matters.

“Seth Fairchild is a good psychiatrist, possibly one of the best. His clinical notes were so positive and thorough that they left very little room for the facility to argue that Cave was a continued risk. Vincent used those notes as the foundation for his argument, and they held up in court. That is the first part.”

We all remain silent, even Noa.

“The second part is that Evan Malcolm signed the paperwork. Without his signature, the discharge would have been contested. The facility’s legal team filed the extension request, and even with Vincent’s case, there was a window where they could have pushed further. Evan didn’t have to do that. While the decision was within his discretion, he was not obligated to move quickly.”

“Nixie,” I say. “Who is Evan to you?”

I know there is more to this story. Nixie holds my gaze, and though I once promised I would never ask, now I am.

“He was someone I cared about a long time ago. Before Cave, before the island became what it is.” She pauses. “I left. It’s what I did back then—what I always do when something requires more of me than I want to give. Evan was not the first person I did that to, nor was he the last. I was afraid of what it would mean if he were the physician on the case, as he was a student when Cave was there the first time.”

“Was that why the extension was filed, because of you?” I ask.

“Partially. His brother is part of the facility’s legal team and knows our history.”

I feel bad for her, but then again, this is a situation she created, and I have no way to change it. “Does seeing him again change anything between you and him?”

She looks at me and shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s complicated and there are more than just the two of us involved.” Nixie stands. “That is everything I wanted you to know,” she says and looks at Cave. “I had to make a deal, which means some more sessions with Seth, but he will come here.”

Cave nods, and I raise a brow. Who is this and where is my angry Scarecrow?

“I’m glad you’re home. You are worth fighting for—you were always worth fighting for,” Nixie tells him. “I’m sorry it took a legal battle, and that we sent you to the hospital in the first place when the burns were not as bad as we thought.”

Cave stands, gently moves me to the side, then crosses the office and puts his hand on Nixie’s shoulder. Just for a second, her eyes go a bit glassy as Cave turns and walks for the door. We all follow him, and I nod at Nixie on the way out, who half smiles in return. I think her past has come back to bite her in the ass and she needs to face it head-on.

Once outside, Noa speaks. “I have so many theories about Nixie.”

“I’m sure you do,” I say.

“But I’m containing them, and it hurts.”