David.
He had come to the cemetery. He was here.
I started the engine, my heart hammering so hard it hurt.
Whatever was in Unit 20, it had better be worth this, because right now I was choosing to trust a dead man’s letter over my living husband, and that terrified me more than anything.
At the edge of the cemetery, with the engine idling and my doors locked, I forced myself to read every word Dad had written. The first time I had skimmed it in panic while my brain screamed that none of it could be real. Now I needed details.
Outside, mourners were pulling away, headlights flickering on as October dusk settled over Austin. The windows were cracked just enough for the smell of leaves and turned earth to drift in. Dad’s handwriting stared up at me, cramped but unmistakable.
Emma, if you are reading this, I am alive, but I have had to disappear. Everything I’m about to tell you is true. Twenty years ago, I made a choice that put our family in danger. I thought that danger had passed. I was wrong.
Five years ago, a man entered your life. You know him as David Miller. That is not his real name.
He was sent to you deliberately to destroy me by destroying what I love most: you.
Six months ago, I discovered the truth. I have been working with federal agents, but the threat escalated. The only way to protect you and your mother was to remove myself and make them think they had already won.
David is not who you think he is. His feelings may have become real, but that does not make him safe. It makes him more dangerous.
If you have received a text from David asking you to come home, especially one that feels wrong, do not go. They know I am not dead. They are using him to find you.
Go to Unit 20 at Lonestar Storage on South Congress. Inside, you will find Agent Michael Carter. He will explain everything.
Go now. Every minute puts you and your mother at greater risk.
I’m sorry. Sorryer than you’ll ever know. But everything I have done has been to protect you.
Trust Carter.
Trust your instincts.
