Chapter 7 – "Seven Fires. Seven Deaths. And My Parents Were Behind Every Single One."
The next morning, Evie told Miriam she was going to the library.
"I'm not going to stop you," Miriam said. "But I want you to be careful. Your parents have resources. They could make you disappear."
"They wouldn't."
"Wouldn't they?"
Evie left the shelter and walked to the public library. It was a small building, old and musty, but it had a computer with internet access.
She logged in and started searching.
First, she looked up her father's construction company. Vance Construction. It was a family business, started by Richard's grandfather. It had grown over the years, weathering economic downturns and legal battles. But there were rumors. Subcontractors who hadn't been paid. Families who had lost loved ones in workplace accidents. Land deals that had gone sour.
Nothing that screamed "arson."
Next, she searched for her mother's name. Claire Vance. She was a socialite, known for her charity work. She'd been on the boards of several nonprofits. She'd donated money to politicians. She'd never been charged with a crime.
But Evie kept digging.
She found an old article from a local paper. A piece about a house fire in the county twenty years ago. A wealthy family had lost everything. The cause of the fire was unknown.
Evie stared at the article. The family's name was Vance.
Her grandparents had lost their house in a fire. Twenty years ago.
Evie scrolled through more articles. There were other fires. Other unexplained blazes. Each one connected to the Vance family in some way—a business partner's house, a neighbor's property, a warehouse owned by Vance Construction.
Her family was plagued by fires.
And no one had ever been caught.
Evie sat back in her chair, her heart pounding.
Her parents had a pattern.
May you like
They had been setting fires for years.
And now, they'd tried to burn her alive.
