Chapter 4

Early the next morning, someone began pounding urgently on the door.

Dad thought I had finally changed my mind and hurried to answer the door. Instead, he found a middle-aged man in a sharp suit standing there.

"Excuse me, is this the Walker residence? I'm looking for Edwin Walker."

Dad paused. "I'm his father. And you are?"

The man pulled a business card from his briefcase and handed it to Dad. "Good morning. I'm Bernard Shaw, the attorney who represented Edwin in his case."

I drifted behind Dad, confused. The case was already over, so why was Mr. Shaw here?

Still, Dad ushered Mr. Shaw inside. Mom and Josephine emerged from their rooms when they heard the voices.

Mr. Shaw got straight to the point. "Mr. and Mrs. Walker, I'm here because I have some good news to share with you.

"The family of the elderly man who was hit in the accident recently contacted me. They're willing to submit a letter asking the court for leniency, and they want to drop the case."

At that, Dad, Mom, and Josephine stared at him in stunned silence.

Dad's voice trembled as he asked, "W-Why?"

"It turned out the man had already been seriously ill. His doctors had told his family he didn't have much time left," Mr. Shaw explained. "The accident was only a trigger, not the primary cause of his death.

"His family had been carrying that guilt for years. They felt it was too much for a young man with his future ahead of him to shoulder all the consequences.

"With their written statement, I can petition the court to reopen Edwin's case. I can't promise the conviction will be completely overturned, but at the very least, we can significantly improve his record. That could make a huge difference when it comes to finding work and getting his life back on track."

All at once, a glimmer of hope broke through the darkness.

Dad was so overcome with emotion that his lips trembled. He gripped Mr. Shaw's hand and exclaimed, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Nearby, Mom and Josephine burst into tears of joy as well.

"Oh, thank God! Edwin finally gets a chance to start over!"

Mom wiped away her tears and immediately ran toward my room. "I'm going to tell Edwin the good news! He's going to be so happy!"

She rushed to my door, pounding on it as she called out excitedly, "Open up, Ed! You're going to be okay! You won't have to live with that conviction for the rest of your life!"

However, there was still no response from inside.

The smile faded from Dad's face, and a sense of dread washed over him.

"Josie!" he yelled. "The key! Get the key and open the door!"

Josephine panicked. She fumbled for the key in her pocket, her hands shaking as she struggled to get it into the lock.

Then, the door opened with a click.

The morning sunlight streamed through the window, revealing the room's disarray and the dark stains of blood.

I lay on the cold floor, the blood beneath me already congealed into a dark red stain. My college acceptance letter, stained red with blood, lay beside my hand.

The metallic smell of blood hung in the air.

Without warning, Josephine's scream shattered the morning silence.

"Ed!"