Chapter 6 - The Unexpected Ally
I stood in the dark, rain-soaked alley behind the local diner, clutching my pepper spray inside my pocket.
A tall figure stepped out from the shadows near the dumpsters, wearing a long trench coat and a baseball cap.
The person pulled off the cap, revealing the sharp, familiar features of a woman I recognized instantly.
It was Evelyn, Daniel's older sister who had been disowned and estranged from the family ten years ago.
"Evelyn?" I gasped in shock, lowering my guard slightly.
"Keep your voice down, Sarah," she warned, looking nervously over her shoulder.
"I've been watching the house, and I saw CPS kick you out today," she explained quickly.
"You have to help me, they have Lily and they are going to hurt her for insurance money," I pleaded.
Evelyn nodded grimly.
"I know about the policy, Sarah," she said, pulling a thick envelope from her coat.
"Margaret tried to do the exact same thing to me when I was a teenager," Evelyn revealed.
My eyes widened as I processed this dark family secret.
"She poisoned me for months, making everyone think I was born sickly, just to collect disability checks," Evelyn continued.
"When I figured it out, I ran away, and she convinced Daniel I was a drug addict," she said bitterly.
Evelyn handed me the envelope.
"There is a hidden safe behind the large mirror in Margaret's bedroom," Evelyn told me.
"Inside that safe is the original trust document that proves Margaret is broke and deeply in debt to dangerous people," she added.
"If you can get that document to the police, it establishes her financial motive for murder," she instructed.
"How am I supposed to get into a locked safe?" I asked in despair.
Evelyn smiled a cold, hard smile.
"Because I built that safe for her before I left, and I know the master override code."
May you like
Evelyn leaned in closer and whispered the six-digit number into my ear.
"You have to do it tonight, Sarah, because Margaret booked a private flight out of the country for tomorrow morning."
