CHAPTER 95: LIAM

There are moments when life spirals beyond your control, and you're left watching the wreckage unfold. That's exactly how I feel. Every step I take seems to push me deeper into the abyss.

The house is too quiet. The kind of silence that presses in, forcing you to face everything you'd rather ignore. Emma isn't here, and her absence gnaws at me more than I want to admit. Every corner of this house reminds me of her—the sound of her laugh, the way she used to hum under her breath when she thought no one was listening.

But she's gone. And maybe it's for the best.

I tell myself that a hundred times a day. Maybe she's better off away from me and the tangled mess of my family's secrets. But knowing that doesn't make it any easier.

I walk to the window, looking out at the ocean. The waves crash against the shore, relentless. Unforgiving. It mirrors how everything in my life has been since this investigation began. Every day, we dig up more dirt, more lies, more betrayals, and I can't help bu