Andrew stopped breathing.
He turned the page.
Three words were written underneath.
SOPHIA KNOWS.
His hands began to shake.
Then he found the final drawing.
It showed Andrew standing beside a grave.
Sophia was holding his hand.
Valerie was nowhere in the picture.
Andrew stared at it for a long time.
Then he noticed a tiny detail in the corner.
A black car.
And beneath it, a name.
Not Sophia.
Not Valerie.
Not even Andrew.
A name he hadn’t heard in nearly seven years.
Marcus Vale.
Andrew’s former business partner.
The man who had disappeared from his life shortly after Elena died.
The man Andrew had believed had moved overseas.
The man who had once known every detail of Andrew’s finances, his company, and his family.
Andrew’s phone rang.
Detective Collins answered before he could.
“Detective Collins.”
She listened.
Then her expression changed.
“Where?”
She looked at Andrew.
“The hospital.”
“What happened?”
“Valerie woke up.”
Andrew rushed toward the door.
Detective Collins followed.
When they reached the hospital room, Valerie was sitting upright.
Her eyes were still tired, but she was awake.
Andrew hurried to her bedside.
“Sweetheart.”
She reached for him.
He held her carefully.
“You’re safe now.”
Valerie nodded.
Then she whispered:
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Can I tell you who gives Sophia the purple medicine?”
Andrew went completely still.
Detective Collins moved closer.
“Who?”
Valerie looked toward the door.
Then she said a name that made Andrew’s entire body go cold.
“Uncle Marcus.”
Andrew stared at Detective Collins.
Marcus Vale had not disappeared.
He had been inside their lives all along.
And suddenly Andrew understood why Sophia had been so desperate to keep Valerie quiet.
The little girl had not merely been abused.
She had become a witness.
And somewhere outside that hospital room, the person who wanted her silent had just realized she could talk.
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