“I didn’t do it, Dad—I swear to you. It was Max and…” I pause and swallow. I don’t want to tell him the rest, but I have to. “It has to have been them. And Bella. She was with them. I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry.”

Dad closes his eyes. It hurts so much having to tell him this, but it’s been hidden for too long.

“I’ve told them—when they find Max and Lena, they have to question them about Bella as well. About what happened out in the woods. I think…I think she was going to go to the police and they stopped her and that’s how she…”

My voice trails off. How she died, that’s what I was going to say. I think Max and Lena killed Bella as well. That’s why Bella came back to me. This is the truth she wanted me to uncover. My stomach turns over in slow, lazy waves and there’s a bitter taste in my throat. Bella is still here, hidden in the shadows in the corner of the room. I don’t understand…I thought she’d disappear. Now that I’ve found out the truth, I thought she’d disappear.

“But they still think it’s me,” I say, hot tears spilling. “They’ve arrested me. Oh God, oh God, they don’t believe me. What if they don’t find Max and Lena? What if they keep insisting it’s me even if they do?”

“Don’t talk anymore,” Dad says. “Try to rest. The doctor said you’re suffering from severe exhaustion. You need to rest before you answer any more questions; you have to make sure everything is clear in your mind.”

It doesn’t sound like he believes me, and the bitter bile in my throat surges higher.

“I should have…when Steve Wallace told me about Nicole and her secret boyfriend, I suspected Greg even then. Some of the things Julia told me about him. But I had no proof. I should have told the police then, but I didn’t want to hurt Julia. They told me what that bastard did to you. I never knew. I swear I never knew or I’d have…If you did do it, I’m glad. I’m glad.” He says it so fiercely I have to look away. But when I look away, I see Bella, her gaze as fierce as his.

Dad glances at the closed door and leans forward, dropping his voice to a whisper. “All this time, I’ve been so worried, Tess. I never told. Never told anyone.”

“Told anyone what?” I say, stomach turning over faster.