Chapter 12: The House Across the Road
William’s home was placed under constant surveillance.
Sarah tried not to show fear around Emma, but every passing vehicle made her tense.
Thomas knew where they lived.
He knew the trust could not be recovered while Sarah remained alive.
Detective Ruiz recommended moving the family to a protected location.
Before arrangements could be completed, Emma noticed something outside her bedroom window.
“A man is taking pictures,” she said.
Sarah’s entire body went cold.
Across the road, a figure stood behind the curtains of an empty rental house.
William called the police.
Officers surrounded the property within minutes, but the man escaped through a wooded path behind the backyard.
Inside the rental, investigators found a camera, printed schedules and several pages of handwritten notes.
Thomas had recorded the time Emma left for preschool, the hours William visited Sarah’s attorney, and the location of every security camera around the house.
He had also drawn a floor plan.
Sarah recognized one note beside the kitchen.
Gas line.
Ruiz ordered the family evacuated.
A bomb technician discovered that the exterior gas connection had been loosened. If the house had filled with gas, a single spark could have caused an explosion.
Thomas was no longer simply watching.
He was preparing.
That evening, Sarah and Emma were moved to a secure apartment under police protection. William wanted to join them, but investigators asked him to remain visible.
They believed Thomas might approach him.
“You’re using yourself as bait,” Sarah said.
“I’m giving the police an opportunity to catch him.”
“He killed Mom.”
“We don’t know that.”
“You believe it.”
William did not answer.
Sarah gripped the handles of her wheelchair.
“I already lost one parent because this family kept secrets. I’m not losing another.”
William knelt in front of her.
“You are not the frightened girl you were after your mother died. You are not the woman David pushed onto that rug. You are Emma’s mother, and right now she needs you alive more than I need you nearby.”
Sarah wanted to argue.
Then Emma entered the room holding the two-finger signal in the air.
“Safe,” she said.
Sarah pulled her daughter into her arms.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Safe.”
The next morning, William returned to his house alone.
At 11:42 p.m., the security cameras briefly lost power.
A basement window opened.
William sat in the darkened living room, waiting.
Footsteps moved behind him.
Then a familiar voice whispered, “You should have let Elizabeth’s secrets die with her.”
William did not turn around.
“You’re twenty-seven years too late, Thomas.”
The lights came on.
Police officers emerged from every doorway.
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But Thomas was holding a gun.
And it was aimed at William’s head.
