“What are you talking about?”

He reached inside his coat and handed me a sealed envelope with my name written across the front.

My father’s handwriting.

I knew it instantly.

Walter explained that three weeks earlier, during one of my father’s visits to the cemetery to see his own parents, he had left instructions.

Specific instructions.

If Andrew left the funeral early… and if I was alone that night… Walter was supposed to place the phone on the grave and wait for me to arrive.

My hands shook opening the envelope.

Inside was one folded note.

Melissa, if Andrew leaves before the condolences are over, stop trusting what you think you know. Start with the phone. Then go to the red toolbox in my workshop. Do not tell your mother yet.

I looked back up at Walter, barely breathing.

“What is this?”

But he only shook his head sadly.

“Your father said fear can point people toward the truth,” he whispered.

Then he walked away.

I picked up the phone from the gravestone.

It unlocked using my birthday.

One audio file waited on the screen.

FOR MEL ONLY.

I pressed play.

My father’s weak voice filled the cold air.

“Mel… if you’re hearing this, then Andrew did exactly what I feared he would do.”

I covered my mouth instantly.

“He’s not only unfaithful,” my father continued. “He’s been asking questions about my money. Pushing me to sign papers. Paying too much attention to my medications.”

My stomach twisted violently.

“I changed my will on Monday,” he said. “He found out. That’s when everything changed.”

I stopped breathing.

Then came the sentence that shattered me completely.

“If the person in the next video is who I think it is… your husband didn’t do this alone.”

The recording ended.

I drove home shaking so badly I almost missed the driveway.

The workshop behind the house smelled exactly like my father: sawdust, oil, and cedar.

The red toolbox sat beneath the pegboard wall exactly where it always had.

Inside was a brass key.

A memory card.

And another note.

Watch the video before you trust anyone.

I inserted the memory card into my laptop with trembling hands.

The first video opened instantly.