beneath the ground.
PART 5: THE FINAL TRUTH — THE SECRET THAT DESTROYED TWO FAMILIES
At 11:47 p.m., Jonah and I stood outside the cemetery gates.
The rain fell heavily, soaking our clothes as we stared at the photograph on his phone.
My father’s name was carved into a gravestone.
ADRIAN VALE.
For twenty-eight years, I had believed my father had disappeared before I was born. My mother had told me he was dead, but she had never shown me a grave, a photograph, or a single letter from
him.
Now, someone was telling us that the answers to our entire lives were buried beneath the earth.
Jonah reached for my hand.
“Whatever happens tonight, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
I looked at him through my tears.
“You promised to tell me the truth when you came home.”
“I know.”
“But every time you tell me something, another lie appears.”
He lowered his head.
“Then tonight, there won’t be any more secrets.”
We entered the cemetery.
A single light flickered near the oldest section, where the gravestones had
