“For twenty-seven years.”

I stood so quickly my chair struck the wall.

“You let me mourn her for twenty-seven years?”

“Carol—”

“You watched me bury an empty coffin!”

Tears exploded from my eyes before I understood I was crying.

Mr. Hale didn’t defend himself.

He only said, “Your father believed telling you would put you in danger.”

Daniel stood beside me.

“What danger?”

Mr. Hale looked directly at him.

Then he spoke the sentence that changed everything again.

“Rebecca didn’t disappear because of an accident.”

He paused.

“She disappeared because someone tried to kill her.”

And before I could ask who—

there came a knock

on the locked office door.

Three slow taps.

Mr. Hale went pale.

Because nobody was supposed to know we were there.

—

PART 4 — MY SISTER WALKED BACK FROM THE DEAD

Mr. Hale raised one finger to his lips.

Daniel moved in front of me instinctively.