"The last person to see the journalist alive... was me."
The words hit harder than any confession before them.
Nobody spoke.
The lake behind us seemed to grow darker.
Colder.
More dangerous.
Lucas lowered his head.
For twenty years, we'd believed he was the victim.
The missing child.
The boy who survived.
The boy who suffered.
Now, for the first time...
We realized there was much more to his story.
"What happened?" I asked softly.
Lucas swallowed.
His eyes never left the water.
"The journalist wasn't supposed to be there that night."
Ethan frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"He came looking for evidence."
Lucas's voice trembled.
"He knew powerful people were meeting at the camp."
"People involved in corruption."
"People involved in things are far worse."
Vanessa folded her arms.
"And?"
Lucas closed his eyes.
"I followed him."
Silence.
My heart tightened.
"You were a child."
"I know."
"Why would you follow him?"
A sad smile crossed Lucas's face.
"Because he promised me something."
"What?"
Lucas looked at me.
Then Ethan.
Then Vanessa.
Finally he answered.
"He promised to expose the truth."
The wind rustled through the trees.
And suddenly I understood.
Lucas hadn't been spying.
He had been helping.
In an innocent way only a child could.
Then his face darkened.
"But someone else followed us."
The air became heavy.
Dangerous.
"Who?" Ethan asked.
Lucas shook his head.
"I didn't know then."
"But I know now."
Everyone froze.
Lucas pointed toward the forest.
Toward the direction Richard had fled.
"Richard wasn't the one chasing us."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
"He was there."
Lucas nodded.
"But he wasn't alone."
Then he looked toward Vanessa.
And what he said next shocked everyone.
"Your grandmother tried to save us."
Vanessa's eyes widened.
"No."
"Yes."
Lucas's voice was firm.
"She was the one who told us to run."
The world tilted.
Margaret.
The woman in the photograph.
The woman we'd begun to suspect.
The woman who appeared guilty.
According to Lucas...
She had been trying to help.
Then who was the killer?
Then who fired the gun?
Then who had been sending the messages?
My head spun.
Too many questions.
Not enough answers.
Then Lucas reached into his pocket.
Slowly.
Carefully.
And removed something wrapped in cloth.
Something he'd hidden all these years.
Something he'd never shown anyone.
My heart began pounding.
"What is that?"
Lucas looked down at it.
His hands trembled.
"The reason I stayed hidden."
Very carefully, he unwrapped the cloth.
And revealed...
A gold pocket watch.
Old.
Expensive.
Elegant.
But it wasn't the watch that shocked me.
It was the engraving.
Three words.
Words that made Ethan go pale instantly.
Property of A. Carter
My breath caught.
A. Carter.
Arthur Carter.
Ethan's grandfather.
The founder of the family empire.
The man everyone spoke about with admiration.
Respect.
Pride.
Lucas's voice cracked.
"This was found beside the body."
Silence.
Pure silence.
Because suddenly...
The mystery had grown even bigger.
Richard Blackwood.
Margaret.
The journalist.
Ethan's father.
And now...
Ethan's grandfather.
Lucas looked directly at Ethan.
Tears filled his eyes.
And whispered:
"I don't think our families were protecting a killer."
Ethan stared at him.
Then at the watch.
Then back at Lucas.
"Then what were they protecting?"
Lucas swallowed hard.
The answer barely escaped his lips.
"A name."
And somewhere deep in the forest...
A single gunshot echoed again.
BANG.
Closer this time.
Much closer.

Who do you think the real mastermind is?
A. Richard Blackwood
B. Arthur Carter
C. Someone from Margaret's family
D. Someone nobody has suspected yet