Gillian was sitting on the bumper of an ambulance, a shock blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

She looked up as I descended the steps, her eyes filled with bitter resentment.

I didn’t feel anger toward her anymore.

I only felt a profound sense of relief.

The weight that had pressed down on my chest for years was suddenly gone.

But as we reached Ana’s car, a sudden noise came from the darkness near the barn.

The sound of a car engine starting up.

It wasn’t a police vehicle.

It was a dark sedan, its headlights off.

The tires gripped the gravel as the car accelerated toward the back gate of the property.

“Wait,” Ana said, stopping. “Who is that?”

The sedan smashed through the wooden gate, the sound of splintering timber echoing through the valley.

The deputies turned, shouting into their radios.

“We have a vehicle fleeing the scene!” one of them yelled.

The red taillights of the sedan flared as it hit the main road.

In the brief flash of the brake lights, I saw the driver’s silhouette.

It was Dr. Vale.