Reagan gave a faint smile.
“Finnley, you were in prison for stealing from your own father’s company. Do you really think he wanted you ruining his funeral?”
“I didn’t steal anything.”
“You said that during the trial. Nobody believed you.”
I tried to look past her into the house.
The entrance hall no longer held our family photographs. My mother’s portrait was gone. My father’s favorite hat had disappeared. Expensive furniture had replaced everything, along with the artificial scent of air freshener.
“Let me in. I just want to see his room.”
“His room doesn’t exist anymore. I remodeled it.”
Just then, Carter came downstairs. My stepbrother, the same man who had spent years drowning in debt and gambling, smiled as though he had been waiting for this moment.
“Well, look who’s back. The ex-con has come for his inheritance.”
I stepped toward the doorway, but Reagan blocked my path.
“If you ever set foot on this property again, I’ll call the police. With your criminal record, that won’t end well for you.”
The door closed with a soft click.
I didn’t shout. Instead, I walked to Pinecrest Cemetery, where my father had always said he wanted to rest beside my mother. I needed to see his name engraved on a headstone.
An elderly groundskeeper stopped me beneath a row of cypress trees.
“Who are you looking for, son?”
“Camden Dennis. His wife told me he’s bu:ried here.”
The old man looked at me sadly.
“You’re Finnley… aren’t you?”
A chill ran through my body. “How do you know my name?”
He glanced toward the cemetery entrance and lowered his voice. “Because your father asked me to give you this if you ever came looking for him.”
He pulled out a yellowed envelope. Inside was a letter and an old key.
The key had a small tag that read: STORAGE UNIT 108
“But… where is my father bu:ried?”
The groundskeeper swallowed hard.
“Not here. And if you want to know why, don’t go back to that woman just yet.”
I unfolded the letter. The very first line read:
“Son, if you’re reading this, Reagan has already started lying to you.”
At that moment, I realized my father’s de:ath wasn’t the end of the story. It was only the beginning of something far more terrifying.
Read the next part and full ending in the c0mments 👇👇
