Chapters (36)
He explains how he dug into the police reports surrounding my parents’ deaths. On the surface, it seemed straightforward—bad weather, black ice, a tragic accident. But Bennett wasn’t satisfied.
“If anyone had read the autopsy report carefully, they would’ve seen something odd,” he said. “Your father had traces of cyanide in his system. It’s not uncommon, but not untraceable. I’m still working to identify where it came from.”
The room suddenly feels colder, like a draft slipped in through the cracks in the walls.
“That’s not all,” Bennett added, his expression darkening. “When I hit a dead end with your parent’s death, I went back to my original search—trying to find my biological family. That’s when I uncovered another death. My biological father.”
Mo poured herself another drink, her hands shaking slightly. The clink of the bottle against the glass is the only sound for a long moment, the tension in the air suffocating.
“What happened to him?” I asked, my voice barely audible.
“Officially?” Bennett said. “He died in a skiing accident. It was his honeymoon, and people assumed he was drunk or hungover and made a mistake on the slopes. But the autopsy…” He trailed off, letting the implication hang in the air.
“He also ingested cyanide?” I guess.
He nods. “You guessed it.”
A sick feeling churned in my stomach. This wasn’t just about my family. This was bigger. “So, what are you saying? What does this even mean?” I ask.
Bennett exchanges a glance with Mo, who nods.
“When I realized there was a pattern, I came here,” he says. “Shadow Grove seemed to be the common denominator. Your parents, my parents, and even your uncle Gabe—”
“What about Uncle Gabe?” I interrupt, my heart racing, the words tumbling out before I can stop them.
Bennett sighs. “I wasn’t sure at first, but when I found out he’d died recently too… I checked his records. He had cyanide in his system as well.”
My grip on the glass tightened. “So, what? Someone’s targeting our family?”
Bennett’s gaze hardened. “That’s one possibility. I haven’t looked into any other deaths outside what I discovered about our family. There could be more.”
The weight of his words press down on me, leaving me feeling like I am drowning. My entire life—everything I thought I knew—feels like it is slipping through my fingers.
Mo, ever practical, breaks the silence. “What’s next?” she asks, her voice steady but laced with determination.
Bennett looks at me, his eyes piercing. “What’s next is we figure out who’s behind this… and why.”
The finality in his tone sends a shiver down my spine. The world I knew is gone, replaced by one that is darker, more dangerous. And the worst part? I am not even sure if I am ready for the truth.