Chapter 15
I reached the bedroom in seconds.
The window was open.
Nora was on the floor, dazed but conscious.
Emmett stood in the corner holding a lamp with both hands.
A man in black lay near the dresser, groaning.
Mateo pinned him before he could rise.
I ran to Emmett.
“Are you hurt?”
He shook his head, sobbing.
“He came through the window.”
Nora pushed herself up.
“He went for Emmett’s backpack.”
I looked at the small blue backpack beside the bed.
Schoolbooks.
Crayons.
A stuffed bear.
Nothing that looked like evidence.
Agent Chen stormed in behind me.
Her team secured the intruder.
He refused to speak.
But his phone held a message.
Get the recipe card.
My breath stopped.
Amara’s recipe.
The napkin.
The one Emmett had carried at the party.
I pulled it from the evidence copy Margot had scanned.
The original was locked away.
Agent Chen studied the photo.
“Maybe there is something on it.”
“There is writing on the back.”
“Could be more.”
Under ultraviolet light, the napkin revealed numbers between the recipe lines.
Coordinates.
A storage unit.
Registered under Amara’s maiden name.
We went at dawn with federal agents.
Inside was a metal box.
In the box were flash drives, bank records, and a video file labeled: For Emmett when he is ready.
I could not open it there.
I knew I would break.
Back home, I sat with Emmett.
“This is from Mom,” I said.
His eyes filled.
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see it?”
I looked at Margot.
At Nora.
At Agent Chen.
Then back at my son.
“Only if you want to.”
He nodded.
I pressed play.
Amara appeared on the screen.
May you like
Alive.
Smiling through tears.
