THE LAST LATER

CHAPTER SIX: THE JOURNAL

LUCY RETURNED HOME WITH THE TIN BOX, HER MIND REELING. Rose’s note suggested something sinister. What had Adrian been accused of, and why did Rose feel the need to hide this evidence?

Determined to find more clues, Lucy decided to search the attic again. She was halfway through moving another box when she noticed a loose floorboard near the corner. Her pulse quickened as she pried it up. Beneath it, she found a small, leather-bound journal.

The journal belonged to Rose. The first few entries detailed her mundane life as a housewife married to a man named Charles. But as Lucy read on, the tone shifted dramatically. Rose described meeting Adrian at a charity ball. Her words were filled with admiration and longing, but also guilt.

“Charles has become colder, more violent. I am trapped in a life I no longer recognize, but Adrian has given me hope. He says we can leave together, but I fear what Charles will do if he finds out.”

The entries grew darker. Rose recounted Charles’s threats and the escalating danger Adrian faced. The final entry was dated the night of Adrian’s disappearance:

“Charles found out. He confronted Adrian by the river. There was a fight. I tried to stop it, but the gun... it went off. Adrian fell into the water, and the current took him. Charles forced me to stay silent. He said if I spoke a word, he’d destroy me too.”

Lucy’s hands shook as she closed the journal. This wasn’t just a story of f*******n love; it was a tale of violence, betrayal, and a crime that had been buried for decades.

She now understood the weight of the man’s warning. Someone didn’t want this truth to come to light.

As Lucy turned off the attic light, she felt a chill run down her spine. A shadow moved across her window – fleeting, but unmistakable. She wasn’t alone.