He hesitated.
Then said:
“The disappearance of your father’s business partner.”
I froze.
“My father never had a missing business partner.”
“That’s what everyone was told.”
The backyard suddenly felt unfamiliar.
The house I grew up in.
The family I trusted.
The people I loved.
Everything felt like it was hiding behind a locked door.
“What does this have to do with Rowan?”
Cormac looked at the phone.
“The video caught more than the bag.”
“What else?”
He turned the screen toward me.
The video was paused.
Behind the gift table.
Behind the decorations.
Behind the guests laughing.
There was a small gap between the curtains.
And through that gap…
someone had been standing there.
Watching.
Recording.
I stared.
“Who is that?”
Cormac zoomed in.
The image was blurry.
But clear enough.
A man.
Older.
Wearing a dark jacket.
Holding a camera.
My heart dropped.
“I don’t know him.”
Cormac looked at me.
“Yes, you do.”
“No.”
“Madison.”
He pointed at the screen.
“Look closer.”
I did.
And then I felt my entire body go cold.
Because the man standing behind the curtain…
was my father.
My father had been dead for seven years.
At least, that was what I believed.
I stepped backward.
“No.”
Cormac grabbed my arm.
“Madison.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I know.”
“That’s my father.”
“Yes.”
“But he died.”
Cormac didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t need to.
The video was there.
The evidence was there.
My dead father had been standing at my gender reveal party.
Watching.
Recording.
And hiding behind a gift table.
Before I could process anything, Rowan appeared beside us.
“What are you two whispering about?”
Her smile was casual.
Too casual.
Cormac immediately locked his phone.
“Nothing.”
She looked between us.
Then at Sawyer.
“Why does everyone look so serious?”
Nobody answered.
Her expression changed slightly.
“What happened?”
I stared at my sister.
For years, I had defended Rowan.
