Chapter Three The Diary That Changed Everything
The final diary entry was dated two days before the accident.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep pretending."
"Someone is watching me."
"If anything happens to me..."
"Don't blame Audrey."
Clara slowly lowered the diary.
Her eyes met Julian's.
"If Sienna wrote this..."
"...then why do you believe Audrey is responsible?"
Julian's face hardened.
"Keep reading."
Several pages had been added later.
Different handwriting.
Different ink.
One sentence stood alone.
"Audrey confessed everything before I died."
Clara frowned immediately.
"This isn't Sienna's handwriting."
Julian looked stunned.
"What?"
"It's completely different."
Richard stepped closer.
She handed him the diary.
He compared the pages.
His expression changed.
"She's right."
Julian grabbed the book.
"No."
"I've compared these pages a hundred times."
"But had you ever asked anyone else to?"
Silence.
For the first time...
Doubt flickered across Julian's face.
That evening Audrey sat alone in the guest room.
She opened her phone.
Hundreds of unanswered messages filled the screen.
Wedding congratulations.
Photos.
Happy memories.
None of them mattered now.
Then an unknown number appeared.
Only one message.
"You should have stayed away from him."
A second message followed.
"I warned you once."
Audrey froze.
Her hands trembled.
She recognized the wording.
She had received the exact same anonymous messages...
Seven years earlier.
She whispered,
"It can't be..."
Someone else knew.
Someone had never stopped watching.
Downstairs...
Richard quietly locked every door.
George checked the windows.
Clara stood in the middle of the living room holding Sienna's diary.
Nothing about the story made sense anymore.
If Audrey had been innocent...
Who wanted Julian to believe otherwise?
Who had added pages to the diary?
Who kept sending anonymous messages after seven years?
And perhaps the most frightening question of all...
Was Sienna's death really an accident?
Outside...
Across the street...
A dark sedan sat beneath the trees.
Its engine remained running.
A figure inside watched the Harper house through a camera lens.
Then smiled.
May you like
"Right on schedule."
The car slowly pulled away before anyone inside noticed.
