Chapter 1 - The Ashes of Truth
Eleanor didn't flinch. She just stared at him with dead eyes.
"Ask her yourself," she whispered.
She pushed a heavily charred wooden box across the mahogany dining table. Its burned edges scraped the polished wood.
The front door slammed shut behind her.
Marcus stared at the box. It carried a strange, sickening scent. Medical-grade antiseptic masked by the sharp bitterness of crushed almonds.
He didn't hesitate. He grabbed the heavy steel meat tenderizer from the kitchen counter.
He brought it down on the rusted brass lock. Once. Twice. The metal snapped.
Marcus pried the lid open. Inside lay a single photograph. A woman holding a newborn baby.
His thumb brushed the surface. The woman's face was completely obliterated. Violently scratched out with a razor blade.
He flipped the picture over. His breath caught in his throat.
Written across the back, in fresh, glistening wet ink, were three words.
May you like
YOU KILLED HER.
