Chapter 6 - THE FLARE AND THE CONFESSION
Marcus stood frozen on the rotting exterior dock, shielding his eyes from the blinding red afterglow of the flare. He stared at Evelyn in absolute disbelief.
The woman he had locked away to die, the woman he had starved and tormented, was now standing between him and his escape, holding a lethal weapon.
"You wouldn't dare," Marcus spat, his arrogance returning as his vision cleared. He took a threatening step toward her. "You’re weak, Evelyn. You can barely stand. Put the gun down before I throw you into the lake."
Evelyn’s hands were shaking violently. Her ruined wedding dress fluttered in the wind off the lake, but she did not lower the heavy orange flare gun.
"I survived three years in the dark to see my son again," Evelyn said, her voice dropping into a deadly, unbreakable calm. "Do not take another step."
Inside the burning boathouse, the flames were licking at my boots. I tightened my grip on Bianca's unconscious body and shouted over the roar of the fire.
"Evelyn! Don't do it! Let the police handle him!"
Marcus laughed—a cruel, hollow sound. He reached into his tailored jacket and pulled out a thick, folded legal document wrapped in a protective plastic sleeve.
"The police?" Marcus mocked, waving the document in the air. "The police can't touch me, Arthur! These are the finalized, irrevocable adoption papers! Bianca signed full custodial rights over to me as her co-parent! Legally, Leo is my son! Even if you survive this fire, you have no proof he belongs to you! I will take you to court, and I will win!"
He took another step toward Evelyn, reaching out to snatch the flare gun.
Evelyn didn't hesitate.
She didn't aim for his chest. She aimed slightly lower, directly at the rotting wooden planks beneath Marcus's feet, right where the kerosene had seeped through the floorboards from inside.
She pulled the trigger.
BANG.
The second flare shot out, striking the fuel-soaked wood with a blinding flash of sparks.
The dock beneath Marcus instantly erupted into a pillar of fire.
Marcus screamed, stumbling backward to avoid the sudden burst of flames. But in his panic, he forgot how old the floating dock was. His expensive leather shoes slipped on a patch of wet algae.
He threw his arms out to catch himself, but there was nothing to grab.
With a terrified yell, Marcus tipped backward and plunged into the freezing, dark waters of the lake.
The heavy plastic sleeve containing the adoption papers slipped from his grasp, landing safely on a dry patch of wood near Evelyn's feet.
"Arthur! Come on!" Evelyn screamed, dropping the flare gun and reaching out her frail arms toward me.
I didn't wait. Carrying Leo on my back and dragging Bianca by her arms, I hurled us through the rear exit, bursting out of the suffocating smoke and onto the floating dock.
The cold night air hit my lungs like a miracle. I collapsed onto the damp wood, gasping for breath, my chest heaving violently.
Leo scrambled off my back and crawled directly toward Evelyn.
For a terrifying second, I thought the little boy would be frightened of the frail, dirty woman in the ruined white dress. But Leo looked into Evelyn’s bright green eyes—eyes that mirrored his own perfectly.
"Mama?" Leo whimpered softly.
Evelyn broke into violent, wracking sobs. She fell to her knees, pulling the little boy into her chest, burying her face in his dark hair.
"Yes, baby," she wept, rocking him back and forth. "Mama’s here. I’m here. I’m never leaving you again."
I watched them, tears blurring my vision. The family I thought I had lost forever was finally together.
But the moment of peace was shattered by the sound of sirens wailing in the distance, growing rapidly louder as they sped down the main estate road.
A loud, splashing gasp echoed from the water below the dock.
Marcus breached the surface, coughing up lake water, his expensive suit dragging him down like an anchor. He scrambled frantically, grabbing onto the edge of a wooden pylon.
"Help me!" Marcus choked, his arrogance entirely gone, replaced by the pathetic panic of a drowning rat. "Arthur, pull me up!"
I stood up slowly, wiping the soot from my face. I walked over to the edge of the dock and looked down at the man who had destroyed three years of our lives.
I reached down and picked up the heavy plastic sleeve containing the adoption papers.
"You said these were ironclad, Marcus," I said coldly, holding the documents up in the moonlight.
I pulled the papers out of the plastic sleeve.
"No! What are you doing?!" Marcus shrieked from the water.
Without a word, I tossed the papers directly into the burning flames of the boathouse. We watched as the legal lies turned to ash in seconds.
Red and blue police lights began flashing through the trees. Anna had made the call.
May you like
I looked down at Marcus. I didn't offer him my hand.
"Hold on tightly, Marcus," I said, my voice dead and emotionless. "The police will fish you out in a minute. You’re going to need your strength for prison."
