Vanessa forced Noah to kneel in front of a dog bowl because he still loved his dead mother.

We drove in silence.

The note from Claire felt heavy in my pocket. Her handwriting. Her clue. One last place she had hidden the truth.

The old stone church stood at the top of a hill overlooking the town where we were married. Small. Quiet. Abandoned now. Claire had loved it. She’d said it felt like the only place she had ever truly been free.

We parked at the bottom of the hill. Walked up under cover of darkness. Dawn was still hours away.

The church doors were locked. But Claire had given me a key years ago. Told me to keep it. Told me I would know when to use it.

My hand shook as I slid the key into the lock. It turned with a soft, familiar click.

Inside, the air smelled of stone and old wood. Moonlight poured through the tall arched windows, painting long pale stripes across the floor. Dust motes danced in the beams.

I walked slowly down the aisle. Marcus stayed near the door, watching the shadows.

Claire’s words echoed in my mind. Look where the light touches the stone.

I looked up. The moonlight fell strongest upon the altar. Upon the large carved stone at its center—where we had stood together, hand in hand, and promised forever.

I stepped closer. Ran my fingers over the carved surface. Smooth. Cold. Marked with our wedding date. And beneath it, a small, almost invisible seam.

I pressed my fingers into the crack. Pulled gently.

A hidden compartment slid open.

Inside lay a single, sealed envelope. And a small, silver drive—different from the one we already held. Heavier. Marked with a single word in Claire’s handwriting: TRUTH.

My breath caught.

This was it. The master file. The one Vanessa and the Guardian had been certain Claire never wrote down. The one that held every name, every secret, every final piece of the puzzle.

I reached in and took them both.

My fingers brushed something else. A small, folded piece of paper. Tucked beneath the drive.

I pulled it out. Unfolded it.

Claire’s handwriting again. Shaky. Written only days before she died.

*Adrian—if you are reading this, you have found what I hid. Use it to protect Noah. Use it to end this. But know this before you open it. The final name on this list will break your heart. Trust no one. Not even the one you believe saved us.*

I stood there in the moonlight, holding that note. A cold dread coiled in my chest.

The final name. Someone I knew. Someone I trusted. Someone close.

“Adrian?” Marcus’s voice came quiet from behind me. “We should go. We have what we came for.”

I folded the note. Put it in my pocket beside the drive. Turned away from the altar.

“Let’s go.”

We stepped back out into the night. Closed the door. Locked it. Walked down the hill toward the car.

But as we reached the bottom, headlights flared to life.

Blocking our path.

A dozen dark vehicles. Surrounding us. Men stepping out—armed. Silent. In perfect formation.

And standing at the center of them… was Vanessa.