Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 102280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
But Catherine had died without sharing her discoveries. Evidence destroyed, the truth buried with her.
Lily wouldn’t repeat that mistake.
She opened her laptop and began typing, documenting everything she’d learned. Deaths, suspicious circumstances, official cover-ups. She created multiple copies, saved them to different locations, and prepared them for distribution.
If she were going to follow this trail to its inevitable conclusion, she’d ensure the truth survived her.
The lighthouse beam swept across her window, its rhythm unchanged for over a century. But now she understood what it really represented—not guidance for ships, but a warning for anyone who dared ask too many questions.
Everything was clear. She was next.
But unlike the others, she would be ready.
twelve
Lily’s eyes snapped open before dawn on Halloween morning. Through her window, the lighthouse beam swept across the harbor in steady pulses, each rotation marking time toward the confrontation that would determine everything.
The house breathed around her—her father’s alarm would sound in an hour, her mother stirred in the kitchen below. Tuesday morning sounds in a life that would end tonight.
Every document, every artifact, every piece of evidence that proved the Aldrich family’s crimes. Create an irrefutable record no one could dismiss or bury.
Gerald Aldrich would wait for her. His polite threats yesterday had made that clear, community concern masking violence. But time had run out.
Lily chose death.
Dark jeans, a black sweater, sturdy boots. Her camera bag sat beside her desk, loaded with fresh film and extra batteries. The tunnel map she’d drawn from memory folded into her pocket.
Her journal lay open to last night’s entry, words that read as prayer and promise: I’ve become someone who understands that history is made by people who choose to stand up for truth, even when it costs them everything.
Steam rose from the kitchen. Her mother stood at the stove making pancakes—Lily’s favorite breakfast. The normalcy cut through her chest.
“You’re up early.” Martha didn’t turn from the stove. “I thought you might want a good breakfast before school.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Lily sank into her chair, studying her mother’s profile. Would this be the last time she’d see her making breakfast, humming softly, hair mussed from sleep?
Martha set golden pancakes before her. “Eat. You need your strength for that presentation today.”
The presentation. Her senior project deadline—she’d almost forgotten. In hours, she’d stand before her history class and present lighthouse research while hiding everything she’d really discovered.
Lily ate slowly, memorizing each bite, her mother’s cooking rich with love and seventeen years of shared breakfasts. Light and sweet, perfect pancakes that might be her last.
“I love you, Mom.” The words tumbled out.
Martha’s eyebrows lifted. “I love you too, sweetheart. You don’t usually get sentimental over breakfast.”
“I’m grateful. For everything. For you and Dad and this house and . . .” Lily gestured around the kitchen. “All of it.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear it. But you’re acting mysterious lately.” Martha settled across from her. “Is everything okay? You’ve seemed different the past few weeks.”
Different. The investigation had transformed her, changing a curious teenager into something harder and more determined. She’d lost her innocence about her town, her family, her own safety. She’d gained a terrible understanding of how evil hides behind respectability.
“I’m fine. Just thinking about the future.”
“College applications stress everyone out. But you’ll get in wherever you want to go. You’re smart and hardworking and—”
“Mom.” Lily reached across the table and caught her mother’s hand. “Whatever happens, I want you to know that you raised me right. You taught me to care about truth and justice and protecting people who can’t protect themselves.”
Martha squeezed back. “Now you’re really worrying me. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I just wanted you to know.”
Robert appeared in the doorway, hair sticking up, exhaustion weighing down his shoulders. “Morning, ladies. Something smells good.”
“Pancakes.” Martha stood to fix him a plate. “Your daughter’s being unusually affectionate this morning.”
“Is she?” Robert studied Lily’s face. “Everything okay, sweetheart?”
“Everything’s fine, Dad.” She stood and wrapped her arms around him, breathing in his familiar scent of coffee and lighthouse machinery. “I’m just happy to be here with you both.”
He hugged back, arms strong and protective. For a heartbeat, she felt safe in a way she hadn’t in weeks. But safety had become an illusion she couldn’t afford.
“I should get ready for school.” She stepped back.
“Your presentation’s today, right?” Robert asked. “The lighthouse project?”
“Yes. This afternoon.”
“I’m proud of you for choosing something about our local history. Not everyone would for a school assignment.”
If only he knew how deep that history ran. How many secrets the lighthouse held. How much danger his daughter faced because of it.
“I learned a lot.”
The school day blurred past in forced normalcy. Morning classes, lunch with Sarah, smiles and nods at appropriate moments. But her mind ran elsewhere, checking final preparations and contingency plans.
Five different locations around town held copies of her evidence. Sarah had a package with instructions to open if Lily disappeared. Dr. Coleman had another.