My father slowly stood and asked the question that exposed everything. “How much would it take to make this disappear?” he said quietly. I placed my glowing phone on the table beside the folder. Recording.

Before anyone could react, my friend Elise walked into the kitchen with two detectives behind her. Mason panicked instantly while my mother turned pale. Dad tried pretending they were grieving parents, but the detectives already had enough evidence to begin making arrests.

Mason was charged with fraud and became part of a negligent homicide investigation connected to the deadly crash. My parents were implicated too after investigators uncovered money transfers tied to Mason’s accounts and the trucking company’s stolen funds.

As officers handcuffed Mason, he screamed that I was alone now because Daniel and Lily were gone. I stepped closer and looked him directly in the eyes. “I lost the people I loved,” I told him calmly. “You lost the person who protected you from consequences-