Chapter 5 - Echoes of the Past
Despite the police protection, sleep remained an elusive luxury. Every creak of the floorboards, every rustle of the wind against the windowpanes sent a jolt of adrenaline through my nervous system.
To keep my mind occupied and give Alina a sense of normalcy, I decided to start cleaning out the attic—a task I had put off for years. Alina sat on a dusty blanket near the window, happily flipping through old photo albums while I went through stored cardboard boxes.
"Look, Auntie Shayla!" Alina called out, holding up a small, weathered blue notebook with a tarnished brass clasp. "Mommy’s drawing book!"
I walked over and sat down beside her, taking the notebook into my hands. I recognized it immediately. It was Malia’s personal diary from high school, filled with teenage thoughts, pressed flowers, and hand-drawn sketches.
As I gently turned the yellowed pages, a folded piece of paper slipped out from between the back leaves and drifted to the floor. I picked it up. It was a letter written in Malia’s delicate, slanted handwriting, addressed to me. The date at the top indicated it had been written just three days before she vanished.
Dearest Shayla,
If you are reading this, it means my worst fears have come true and I am no longer there to hold Alina. I am so sorry for bringing this shadow over our lives.
I discovered what Richard has been doing. He is not the man we thought he was. He is cold, hollow, and consumed by greed. I have hidden a master flash drive containing all the original banking keys and recordings in a place only you would understand.
Remember the old lighthouse by the bay where we used to hide when Dad was angry? Under the third wooden step of the observation deck, inside the iron lantern box. Take it to the authorities, Shayla. Keep Alina safe. Love her as much as I do.
Forever your sister, Malia
Tears blurred my vision as I squeezed the letter against my chest. She had known the danger she was in, yet her final thoughts had been focused entirely on protecting her daughter and trusting me to finish what she started.
"What does it say, Auntie?" Alina asked, tilting her head innocently.
May you like
"It says your mommy loved us very, very much," I whispered, pulling Alina into a tight embrace. "And it says she left us a key to make sure the bad man can never hurt anyone ever again."
I immediately called Detective Miller and explained what I had found. Within an hour, Miller and a team of officers met me at the historic Point Pine Lighthouse, located twenty miles north along the rocky coastline.
