Page 54 of Into the Light

“How are the lights on already?” I asked.

“I was here yesterday.” Then he pushed the door open so I could see what was inside. We stepped in, and I was pleasantly surprised at the vintage and quaint little cabin. It was literally one room with a small bathroom, but there was a small full-sized bed in the corner, two reading chairs in the other corner, and a small kitchenette.

“Wait, I love this.” I exclaimed, surprising Rain and myself.

“I have some of my rarest books here.” He motioned over to the built-in bookshelf above the chair, and I was shocked when I thumbed through some of the copies.

“Holy shit.” He had rare first editions of Agatha Christie, Stephen King, and some other authors I didn’t recognize because I liked reading about faeries ramming into each other.

“Cool, yeah?”

I paused in the center of the room. “Why’d you bring me here?” I asked, but my voice sounded softer than usual and much more timid, so much it almost reminded me of the old Ember.

He shoved his hands in his pocket, and in this light, I saw him for who he really was. He wasn’t the born leader that Ash was. He wasn’t the villain in the story everyone was demanding he become.

I took a slow step toward him before he could respond. “You’re kinda cute when you geek out over books.”

He chuckled, running his hand through his hair and avoiding eye contact with me. “I guess. I know our book tastes are different, but I’ve always been obsessed with horror and becoming published as a writer is really a dream of mine.”

He paused momentarily. “Before the accident, and now everything’s a mess.”

“But is it?” He cocked his head. “From what I overheard, give it all up. You have your own money from your dad. Mr. Ortiz will let you out—”

“No, he won’t, Ember, not until I tell him where the money went.”

The part of the conversation I’d overheard and knew immediately where the lump of cash was.

“It’s in Dansport in my house.” Rain nodded.

“It’s in my bank account. The millions of dollars that were suddenly wired into my account when I was . . . mourning.” Another silent nod.

“The night he died, I put it all in your name. I’d gotten the house for myself but in the moment, it made more sense that you’d need it. When you were sleeping, I put it all into the house.”

I-I thought Ash had gotten me the house. I could feel my chest cleave into two.

“I don’t need that money,” I whispered, and then Rain reached inside the backpack he had brought and pulled a document out.

“I know you don’t need it, but it’s yours,” he whispered, handing me the paper labeled “Last Will and Testament.”

I scanned it, not understanding most of the legal jargon until Rain came over and pointed to a highlighted section.

“Ember Solis is the designated beneficiary of the complete allocation of my estate, held within an offshore account domiciled in Switzerland, specifically identified by the account number: 08429. It is hereby affirmed that she is the exclusive recipient of the aforementioned inheritance.”

I paused, realizing what I had just read. He planned this. He knew this would happen, so there was no way someone else could have pushed him, because he wouldn’t have had time to—

“I know,” Rain whispered as if he was reading my thoughts.

“I-I found his phone.” I pulled it from my purse, and while showing him, it turned on straight to the photo of the two of us together.

Rain winced.

“Did you . . . Were there . . .” He paused, turning away from me. His hands ran through his hair, and I came behind him and wrapped my arms around his thick chest. I laid my head against his back between his broad shoulders.

“I heard your voicemails. All of them.” My voice was nothing more than a hushed whisper.

He grabbed my fingers with one hand, but didn’t turn around.

“Did you find anything else?”

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