Chapter 6: The List of Names
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Not because there was nothing to say.
Because there was too much.
My name stared back at me from the page.
*Margaret Carter.*
Written beneath Amelia’s name.
Written like I was already gone.
My hands became cold.
I had spent my entire life protecting my daughter.
Holding her when she cried.
Standing beside her when the world hurt her.
But now I was looking at a piece of paper that proved someone had been planning to take both of us away.
Detective Collins closed the notebook slowly.
“Mrs. Carter, I need you to remain calm.””
I looked at her.
“Calm?””
My voice cracked.
“My daughter woke up inside a coffin because of this man.””
I pointed toward the door.
“And now you’re telling me he planned to come after me too?””
The detective didn’t answer immediately.
That silence was enough.
Because she knew.
She knew the danger was real.
Amelia reached for my hand.
“Mom.””
I turned toward her.
Her eyes were full of tears.
“I’m sorry.””
Those two words broke me more than anything else.
“No.””
I shook my head.
“Don’t you dare apologize.””
“But if I had told you—”
“You survived.””
Her lips trembled.
“That’s all I care about.””
She looked down at the notebook.
“I should have known.””
“Known what?””
“That Ryan was capable of this.””
I squeezed her hand.
“You loved him.””
She looked away.
“I trusted him.””
There was a difference.
A painful one.
Detective Collins stood near the window, reading through the pages again.
“Emily.””
Emily looked up.
“Yes?””
“How did you get this notebook?””
Emily hesitated.
“From Ryan’s office.””
“Without permission?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I knew he was hiding something.””
The detective studied her.
“And you didn’t think to bring this to the police?””
Emily’s face tightened.
“I tried.””
“What happened?””
She looked down.
“Ryan found out.””
“When?””
“The same night Amelia was taken to the hospital.””
A chill went through me.
“He knew you had it?””
Emily nodded.
“He called me.””
“What did he say?””
Emily swallowed.
“He said, ‘If you want to see another sunrise, forget you ever opened that drawer.’”
Nobody spoke.
I looked at her.
“You were scared.””
“Yes.””
“And you still came here.””
Emily nodded.
“Because Amelia was the one person who never treated me like I was part of Ryan’s world.””
Amelia looked at her.
“Emily…”
“You were always kind to me,” Emily whispered.
“Even when you didn’t have to be.””
The room became quiet.
Because sometimes the people closest to evil are the ones who suffer from it too.
Detective Collins opened the notebook again.
“There are five names.””
She looked at Amelia.
“Do you know who the others are?””
Amelia shook her head.
“No.””
Emily looked nervous.
“I know some.””
“Who?””
She pointed at the first name.
“This one.””
Detective Collins read it.
“Thomas Reed.””
My heart jumped.
I knew that name.
Everyone in our family did.
“He was my grandfather’s lawyer.””
Amelia nodded.
“Yes.””
“What about him?”” I asked.
Emily looked at the notebook.
“Ryan believed he had copies of old legal documents.””
“Documents proving what?””
“That the inheritance was never supposed to go to Ryan.””
The detective frowned.
“Explain.””
Amelia looked at her.
“My grandfather changed his will before he died.””
“Why?””
“Because he discovered someone was stealing from the company.””
Detective Collins looked at the page.
“And Ryan thought Thomas Reed knew about this?””
“Yes.””
I felt a knot forming in my stomach.
“How many people knew?””
Emily looked at the names.
“Enough people to ruin him.””
“And now?””
Emily’s voice dropped.
“Enough people for him to remove.””
The detective immediately stood.
“We need to find these people.””
She grabbed her phone.
“I’m sending these names to my team.””
But before she could make the call, Amelia suddenly sat up.
“Wait.””
Everyone looked at her.
“There’s one person missing.””
Detective Collins turned.
“What do you mean?””
Amelia looked at the notebook.
“Ryan wouldn’t write everyone down.””
“Why not?””
“Because the most important person wouldn’t need to be written.””
“Who?””
Amelia stared at the page.
“The person giving him orders.””
The room went silent.
Emily slowly nodded.
“That’s what I thought too.””
I looked at her.
“What do you mean?””
Emily looked at Amelia.
“My brother doesn’t make plans alone.””
Detective Collins narrowed her eyes.
“You’re saying someone else is controlling this?””
Emily nodded.
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Emily looked afraid.
“I don’t know.””
That answer frightened me more.
Because Ryan was dangerous.
But a person who could control Ryan?
That was something else.
A knock came at the door.
Everyone turned.
A police officer stood outside.
“Detective Collins?””
She stepped into the room.
“We have a problem.””
The detective immediately walked over.
“What happened?””
The officer looked at Amelia.
“Someone accessed the hospital records.””
My stomach dropped.
“What records?””
The officer hesitated.
“Your daughter’s medical file.””
Detective Collins became serious.
“When?””
“Twenty minutes ago.””
“Who accessed it?””
The officer handed her a tablet.
“We’re still tracking it.””
The detective looked at the screen.
Then her face changed.
“What?””
I stepped closer.
“What is it?””
She didn’t answer.
She turned the tablet around.
A name appeared.
*Dr. Ethan Miller.*
My anger returned instantly.
“He came back?””
The officer shook his head.
“Not exactly.””
“What does that mean?””
“He accessed the file remotely.””
Detective Collins stared at the screen.
“He wasn’t in the hospital.””
Amelia looked terrified.
“Then why?””
Nobody answered.
Then her eyes widened.
“Wait.””
She looked at Emily.
“The folder.””
“What about it?””
“When Ryan came into my room…”
She stopped.
“After I woke up.””
“What?””
“He wasn’t there to threaten me.””
My skin prickled.
“Then why was he there?””
Amelia looked at the notebook.
“He wanted to see if I remembered.””
Detective Collins nodded slowly.
“And when he realized you did…”
“He sent the message.””
I looked at the door.
“He knows we have the evidence.””
Emily stood suddenly.
“No.””
Everyone looked at her.
“No, he doesn’t.””
“What do you mean?””
She pointed at the notebook.
“Ryan never cared about the notebook.””
Amelia frowned.
“Then what did he care about?””
Emily’s face went pale.
“The location.””
A cold feeling spread through me.
“The evidence you hid.””
Amelia nodded.
“Yes.””
Emily looked at her.
“Where did you hide it?””
Amelia went silent.
I knew immediately.
She was afraid to say.
Detective Collins stepped closer.
“Amelia, if Ryan knows where it is, we need to move quickly.””
Amelia looked at me.
Then at Emily.
Then at the notebook.
Finally, she whispered:
“I hid it somewhere Ryan would never search.””
“Where?””
She took a deep breath.
“At my grandfather’s old house.””
I frowned.
“The house that was sold?””
Amelia shook her head.
“No.””
She looked toward the window.
“I found something hidden there.””
“What?””
“A room.””
The words confused me.
“What room?””
Amelia’s eyes filled with fear.
“A room my grandfather built before he died.””
Detective Collins stepped forward.
“What was inside?””
Amelia looked at her.
“Proof.””
“Proof of what?””
She whispered:
“Proof that Ryan’s family didn’t just steal money.””
The room went silent.
“They killed for it.””
Before anyone could respond, the hospital alarm suddenly began screaming.
The lights flashed red.
A nurse rushed past the door.
“Security breach on this floor!””
Detective Collins immediately reached for her weapon.
“Everyone stay back.””
Then Amelia looked toward the hallway.
Her face changed.
Because she recognized the footsteps approaching.
Slow.
Calm.
Certain.
The footsteps stopped outside the room.
The door handle began to turn.
Emily whispered:
“No…”
I looked at her.
“Who is it?””
She stared at the door.
May you like
And said the name that made Amelia start shaking.
“Ryan’s father.””
