Page 84 of Begin Again

She killed Gabriel.

And she’s gotten away with it for decades.

Orion drives, his knuckles white against the steering wheel. Morgan sits in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead, her expression unreadable. Theo, Celeste, Bennett, and I are crammed in the backseat, each of us lost in our own spiraling thoughts.

“We need to bring her down,” Bennett finally says, breaking the silence. “For everything.”

“We don’t have anything other than speculation at this point. If it was her, she’s good at covering her tracks,” Morgan says. “We need more than just suspicions. We need solid, undeniable proof.”

“She’s stayed ahead of the law this long because she controls the town,” Orion says. “She manipulates the people around her. And she’s always had someone or an excuse to take the blame. It’s always somehow classified as an accident.”

“Not this time,” Morgan says firmly.

I glance at Theo, whose jaw is clenched so tight I’m afraid he might crack a tooth. “We don’t just need proof,” he mutters. “We need every loose end tied up before we make a move. If we screw this up, she’ll get away with it again.”

The weight of that thought settles over us as we pull into Morgan’s driveway.

The moment we step inside, Orion, Morgan, and Bennett break off toward the kitchen, already deep in conversation.

“She’s calculated,” Bennett says, leaning against the counter. “She plans ahead. Or she’s always damn lucky. We have to be just as methodical. If we rush this, we’ll lose.”

“We need to start at the beginning,” Orion says. “George’s death.”

Morgan nods. “If we can prove it wasn’t an accident, we can unravel everything else.”

“She left town for a year after he died,” I remind them. “Whatever she was doing during that time, it was important enough for her to disappear completely. We know she was pregnant with Bennet, but what else was she doing.”

Bennett taps his fingers against the counter, thinking. “I’ll dig into financial records, see if there’s anything suspicious. Any payments she made, any property she bought, anything that can tell us where she was.”

“She’s too careful to leave obvious paper trails,” Orion warns.

“She’s careful,” Bennett agrees. “But she’s not perfect.”

Morgan exhales, crossing her arms. “What about Gabriel?”

Morgan’s question stills the room.

“His murder is the most recent,” she continues. “If we can connect her to that, we won’t need to rely on decades-old cases.”

“Gabriel used to be sheriff,” Orion muses. “He had access to everything. If he started digging into something he wasn’t supposed to… Do you think those alerts he had on the computer meant he uncovered details we haven’t?”

“He could’ve found out the truth,” Morgan states.

There’s a beat of silence as we all consider it.

“If he had evidence,” Orion says slowly, “we need to find it.”

“The department will have records of his cases,” Bennett says. “If he was looking into Aubrey, it’ll be there. Even if she tried to cover it up.”

Morgan’s eyes darken. “I’ll get what we need.”

Orion studies her. “You’re the one who has to arrest her unless you run it up the ladder and officially consult the FBI. I’m not sure we want to do that until we know how she’s stayed steps ahead of us. We don’t need to bring anyone in until we know for sure she doesn’t have the department helping her stay so many steps ahead.”

Morgan exhales sharply, but she doesn’t hesitate. “I know.”

There’s a moment of heavy silence before Orion nods. “Then we make this airtight.”

Theo, Celeste, and I exchange glances. There’s nothing for us to add—Mo, Orion, and Bennett are already five steps ahead, crafting the perfect plan.