When Midnight Strikes at the Crematorium, a Father Discovers His Daughter-in-Law's Dark Mob Secret Inside the Furnace
👉 Previous choice: You have either confronted Clara at dinner or confided in Leo about the IP logs.
The porch swing creaked rhythmically under my weight. The evening air was cool, carrying the scent of damp earth. Clara had issued strict instructions that I was to remain on the property, and she had taken my car keys. I watched the street, every passing vehicle a potential threat, every shadow a potential observer.
Toby sat beside me on the swing, humming a tuneless song, meticulously stacking wooden blocks into a precariously tall tower. His small, innocent presence was the only comfort in my growing isolation.
“Grandpa,” he piped up, his voice soft, “Mommy was mad when she found Uncle Vinny’s shiny gold watch.”
My head snapped towards him. “Uncle Vinny?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even. “Where did she find it?”
Toby leaned closer, his eyes wide. “She put it inside her locked jewelry box. Under the floorboard in her study. Next to her special blue stamp. She said it was a bad secret.”
The blocks tumbled with a soft clatter. My blood ran cold, then surged with a sudden, potent hope. A locked jewelry box. A floorboard. A special blue stamp—Clara’s notary seal. Toby’s innocent, offhand comment had just given us the exact location of the physical evidence, the stolen property, and the tool of Clara’s deceit. A child’s accidental observation, a piece of the puzzle I never would have found.
The pieces were falling into place.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 12: Searching the Floorboard to continue the story.
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