It sickened Charlie to hear her discuss killing her uncle.
“You can get anything off the Dark Web. I found out potassium chloride would mimic a heart attack. It’s hard to trace and only stays in the blood for a certain length of time. It was perfect.” Her mouth thinned. “Or so I thought. Until you came back and started working with Ryan on the case.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Charlie saw movement and realized it was Boone with a wealth of armed officers standing near the rear entrance to the cave. Would they be able to subdue Lila before she finished the job?
Charlie had to keep talking. “So, you knew it was only a matter of time if we kept investigating before we found the truth.”
“Of course. Why’d you have to stay? You were never supposed to stay.”
A faint sound coming from the men advancing on Lila had her whirling toward them. When she realized they were coming for her, Lila charged for Charlie with the knife above her head.
A shot rang out in the cave. The knife flew from Lila’s hand. Before Lila could make a move, Boone and two other officers had her in custody.
She was saved. The truth about Abby’s disappearance had finally been made known. Now Abby could go home to be with her parents.
But there was one question Charlie had to know. “Is he alive?” she asked as soon as Boone knelt beside her.
“He is. He’s in bad shape, but he’s alive.” He cut her restraints free.
“Take me to him. I want to be there for him.”
And she did. No matter what happened. She wanted to be there for Ryan.
Epilogue
Darkness sometimes has a way of shutting out all the light. All joy. All truths. For years, a darkness had hung over Pine Haven like a ghost haunting the city. First with Tyler’s death and then Abby’s disappearance.
But today, on this beautiful spring day, the haunts had been set free, and they no longer had the power to keep happiness away.
Ryan stood at the front of the church and couldn’t believe this day had come. He was going to marry the woman of his dreams. She hadn’t run away. She’d run to him.
Together, they’d worked through all the darkness surrounding Lila’s actions. From the murder of Abby to her parents’ deaths after they’d figured out the truth. To Pete, the person who had finally helped bring the truth to light.
For years, Lila had hidden the truth about suffering from Paranoid Schizophrenia from those closest to her. Her parents knew as well as Tyler. They kept her secret, and it caused so much damage.
And while Junior hadn’t been charged with stealing from the county due to the statute of limitations, he had lost his job on the city council as well as any chance at becoming mayor one day.He’d moved away from Pine Haven to try and rebuild his life. Seems you never really knew a person.
Ryan gave himself a mental shake. He wasn’t going to let the ugliness of the past have a place on this day.
Beside him, Boone and Will were there as his groomsmen.
Two of Charlie’s friends from childhood would stand beside her. Abby would be there in spirit cheering them on. She’d always rooted for them to make it.
Their love had been forged by fire in the trials of life, and they’d come out on the other side ready to make the future their own.
The music started. All their guests rose. He looked toward the door as the prettiest girl in the world slowly came down the aisle toward him. Her eyes latched onto him. The promises in them made him smile.
He couldn’t wait to make her his wife. For them to have the future they’d waited fifteen years to make a reality.
