Chapter 10 - The Secret in the Stone
Silence descended over the pass, broken only by the steady patter of cold rain on twisted metal. Julian collapsed onto his knees beside Lily, pulling her tiny frame tightly against his soaked, blood-stained chest.
""I’ve got you,"" he whispered over and over, his voice cracking. ""Daddy’s got you. It’s over.""
Lily buried her face into his neck, wrapping her small arms around him with every ounce of strength she possessed. ""I dropped it, Daddy,"" she whispered, her voice trembling violently.
Julian pulled back slightly, smoothing her wet blonde hair away from her forehead. ""Dropped what, baby? It doesn't matter. None of it matters.""
""The key,"" she said, pointing a tiny finger back toward the teetering wreckage of the SUV. ""Mommy told me never to tell the bad man. But I had it. In my pocket.""
Julian glanced toward the vehicle. Inside the open passenger door, lying on the rubber floor mat, was a heavy brass object. It wasn't a modern key. It was an antique skeleton key, wrapped tightly in oilcloth and sealed with black wax.
He reached inside and retrieved it. Written on the aged cloth in Clara's unmistakable, delicate handwriting were two coordinates and a single date: November 14, 2021.
The date of the car crash that had supposedly killed her.
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Julian felt a cold shiver crawl down his spine that had nothing to do with the freezing rain. The coordinates didn't point to an offshore bank or a safety deposit box. They pointed to a remote parcel of land twenty miles north of the estate—an abandoned logging cabin Clara's family had owned decades ago.
A sudden, chilling realization took root in his mind. Michael Hall hadn't come for money. He had come because he believed Clara was still alive.
