Chapter 19 The Present at the Grave

Chapter 19 The Present at the Grave

IRIS POV

I don't sleep.

At 3 AM, I sit in my apartment staring at photos of my mother. Looking for clues I missed as a nine-year-old.

My phone rings. Unknown number.

"What do you want?"

"Can't sleep either?" The Student's voice is calm. "The person who killed your mother is someone you trust. Someone close. Someone still lying."

The line goes dead.

Someone I trust. Someone close.

I pull up files on everyone connected to my mother's death. Ronan's mother is in every single one.

My laptop screen goes black.

White text appears: Stop looking backward. The gravedigger dies at noon. Nine hours. Get some rest.

The message deletes itself.

Someone just hacked my computer. Someone watching me right now.

I text Ronan: We need to talk. Now.

He responds: I'm outside your building. Couldn't sleep either. Can I come up?

Outside. At 3 AM.

I buzz him up.

He looks exhausted. Dark circles. Blood-stained shirt from yesterday.

"You should've changed," I say.

"Should do a lot of things." He sits on my couch. "But every time I close my eyes, I see Marcus. Elena. My mother."

"The Student called you too?"

He freezes. "How did you know?"

"Because they're playing us. Making us doubt everyone."

"Should I doubt you?" I ask.

"Yes. I lied for months. Manipulated you. Doubt is smart."

"Do you doubt me?"

"Every second. You're too good. Too determined. What if saving all sixteen victims is the trap?"

I hadn't thought of that.

"We should go to the cemetery," I say. "The Student left something at my mother's grave."

"Wait until sunrise. Go safely."

"I need to see it now."

He follows me to the car.

The cemetery is empty at 4:30 AM. Fog everywhere. Our flashlights cut through darkness.

I know where my mother is buried. Haven't visited in five years.

We reach her grave.

A small wooden box sits in front of the headstone.

"Don't touch it," Ronan warns.

"It's not a bomb." I open it.

Inside: a USB drive and a note.

Your mother's last day. Unedited footage from the psychiatric home where she died. Watch it alone. Trust no one.

My hands shake.

"What does it say?" Ronan asks.

I show him.

His face goes pale. "My mother worked at that home. She was your mother's therapist."

"I know."

My phone buzzes. The Student: Watch the video before noon. You'll need the truth before you decide whether to save the gravedigger. He was there the day your mother died. He saw everything. He's the only witness.

I tell Ronan. "The gravedigger saw who killed my mother."

"Then we save him."

"But it's a test. Do I save him because it's right? Or because he's useful?"

We walk back to the car.

A figure stands in the fog. Watching.

I draw my gun. "SHOW YOURSELF!"

The figure steps forward.

Dr. Margaret Ashford.

But she's supposed to be in jail.

"I escaped to warn you," she says. "Don't watch that video. Some truths destroy people."

"You're under arrest!"

"First, you need to understand." Tears stream down her face. "I didn't kill your mother. But I know who did. When you watch that video, you'll know too. And it will break you."

"Who killed her?"

Margaret looks at Ronan. Then me.

"The person standing next to you right now."

I spin to Ronan.

He's holding a gun. Pointed at Margaret.

"She's lying," he says calmly.

"Am I?" Margaret laughs through tears. "Tell her, son. Tell her what you did when you were nineteen. Tell her about the night Sarah Hale jumped."

"Ronan?" My voice shakes. "What is she talking about?"

"He was there," Margaret says. "At the psychiatric home. The last person to speak to your mother before she jumped."

The world stops.

"Ronan. Tell me she's lying."

He looks at me. Guilt in his eyes.

"I didn't push her," he says quietly. "But I didn't stop her either."

"What does that mean?"

"I watched her climb onto that ledge. When she asked if you'd be better off without her, I said yes." Tears stream down his face. "I was nineteen and stupid. I thought I was helping. I didn't know she'd actually jump."

"You killed my mother."

"No! I made a mistake! I was trying to help!"

"You've been lying since the beginning."

"Iris, please—"

My phone buzzes.

Now you know. The man you love killed your mother with words. At noon, the gravedigger dies. He's the only witness to what Ronan did. Save him, and he testifies. Ronan goes to prison. Or let him die, and the secret stays buried. Choose: justice or love.

I look at Ronan. The man who killed my mother. The man I love.

"I'm so sorry," he whispers.

Margaret steps between us. "There's more. Something worse on that video."

"What could be worse?"

"Your mother didn't jump because of depression. Someone told her a secret. About you. About what would happen if she lived. And that someone—"

A gunshot.

Margaret falls. Blood spreads across her chest.

Ronan is holding his smoking gun.

"I'm sorry. But she was going to tell you. And you can't know. Not yet—"

He stops.

Looks down.

Blood spreads across his own shirt.

Behind him, the gravedigger stands with a shovel.

"Surprise," he says with the Student's voice. "I'm victim number three. But I'm also the Student. Always have been."

His eyes turn black.

"Now all the witnesses are dying. Including you. Unless you sign the contract I'm about to offer."

He pulls out a paper covered in symbols.

"Sign it, and everyone lives. Justice is served. But you become like me."

Margaret is bleeding out.

Ronan is bleeding out.

The gravedigger holds out a pen.

"Ten seconds to choose. Save them or save yourself."

The USB drive in my pocket feels like it weighs a thousand pounds.

"Five. Four. Three."

I reach for the pen.