Chapter 10: The Truth Comes Out
Police swarmed the shed minutes later. They cut Elias free, read Colleen her rights, and led her to the waiting car. She didn’t fight. She didn’t scream. She just looked at me once before the door closed.
Back at the estate, the wedding hall was silent now—only a few people stayed: Elias, me, my great-aunt, and the lead detective.
“All the pieces fit,” the detective said, laying out files on a dry table. “The cut gas line, the stolen locket, the threats, the fake engagement. She planned this for years.”
He looked at me. “You’re cleared of all suspicion. Your parents’ estate is yours, fully and legally.”
I nodded, but I didn’t feel happy. Just… empty. Like a weight I’d carried for years had finally fallen off, and I wasn’t sure how to stand straight without it.
Elias sat beside me, his arm resting on the back of my chair—not touching, just there.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop it sooner,” he said.
“You found the truth,” I said. “That’s more than anyone else did.”
Then he pulled something from his pocket. A small, folded piece of paper.
“I found this in your father’s case file,” he said. “He wrote it the day before he died.”
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