Page 39 of Ruthless Regret

“I don’t know what to do,” I admit in a low voice.

He leans against the wall, and folds his arms. “You’ve been through hell, Zain. You can’t expect to come out the other side and just … move on. It doesn’t work like that.”

I curl my fingers, nails biting into my palms. “I thought revenge would help. I thought it would give me something to focus on.”

My dad sighs. “Revenge doesn’t fix anything, son. It just gives you a moment’s satisfaction. The problems are still there when you’re done, though.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

His gaze is steady, holding mine. “That’s something only you can figure out.”

His words hang between us.

That’s something only you can figure out.

It’s such a simple sentence, but no one ever tells you how. They just tell you to keep pushing, keep searching, keep looking for a way.

But nothing is that simple. It never has been.

“I arranged for someone to come out and fix the door,” he says after a long pause.

“Thanks.” I don’t know what else to say.

I stare down the hallway to where I know the kitchen lies, my thoughts going to the files Knight sent. The case files. The interviews.

There has to be something in there.

“I have the case files.”

My dad raises an eyebrow. “Case files?”

“For Jason and Louisa. A friend sent them to me. I need to go through them. He said there are differences between the original ones, and the ones they used in the trial. We think there might be something in them … something that might lead us to the real killer.”

He watches me carefully, but doesn’t say anything.

“I need to know what really happened that night.”

“You think someone changed the information in the files?”

“Iknowthey did.”

“Then go through them.”Like it’s that easy.“Take your time. Look at every detail. You’ve lived with this for years. Maybe you’ll see something that others didn’t.”

I rub the back of my neck, and nod.

“You need to understand that whatever you find in those files … it’s not going to undo the past. But it might help you to understand it. Maybe that’s the best you can hope for.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

ASHLEY

The city is alreadybusy when I leave the house. It’s alive with the rhythm I used to love. People rushing past, conversations blending with the noise of traffic. So different from the slower pace of Whitstone. But today, it feels off … wrong. The streets I know so well, seem sharper, the edges of everything more defined, as though the world is holding its breath and waiting for something to happen.

I try to ignore the way my heart pounds a little too fast. I’m going to get a new phone. That’s all. Nothing unusual. Nothing weird.

So why do I feel like someone is watching me?

I glance over my shoulder, but all I see are people lost in their own worlds, rushing to wherever they need to be. No one is paying attention to me.

---