The Flower That Grew from Ashes novel Chapter 13

He had definitely destroyed the evidence.

He always tied up his loose ends perfectly. But would an arrogant, hyper-cautious man like Hackett truly destroy the only original file without keeping a trump card for himself?

Annelise didn't buy it. Knowing him, he absolutely kept a backup hidden in the safest place possible.

And that place could only be the safe in his study.

"Harriet." Annelise lifted her eyes, staring directly at the only person in the world she could currently trust. "I need you to do something for me."

Her voice was soft, yet it carried the desperate resolve of someone burning their bridges.

"Once I'm discharged, find a time when Hackett isn't home and go into his study. There's a painting hanging on the far wall. Behind it is a safe."

Harriet's eyes widened drastically, her lips beginning to tremble.

Ignoring the older woman's terror, Annelise continued, enunciating every single word.

"The combination to the safe is our wedding anniversary. Zero, nine, one, seven."

As those four digits left her lips, Annelise's mouth twisted into an uncontrollable, bitterly ironic smile.

How pathetic. He had used their wedding anniversary as the passcode to lock away the very evidence of how he had destroyed their marriage.

"Open the safe and look for a medical file. It'll be from four years ago, regarding my appendectomy. Whatever you find, do not read it. Just take photos of it with your phone, and put everything back exactly as it was."

Hearing this, Harriet couldn't hold it together anymore. She fell to her knees by the bed with a heavy thud, tears instantly pouring down her face as her hands desperately gripped the bedsheets.

"Ma'am! What on earth is going on? You're terrifying me! Your appendectomy... that was ages ago! What does that have to do with anything now?"

She sobbed, her whole body shaking.

"This is my only chance."

Harriet's sobs slowly quieted. Seeing the absolute do-or-die determination in Annelise's eyes, she realized there was no room left for negotiation. Tears still in her eyes, she gave a firm, heavy nod.

Annelise let out a breath of relief. She paused, as if remembering something else, and dropped another bomb.

"There's one more thing. I need you to look into a child named Manuel. This child is with Clarissa."

The moment those words hung in the air, the color violently drained from Harriet's face. Her lips parted, trembling, as her eyes filled with shock, panic, and a sudden... terrifying clarity.

It was the exact look of someone whose deepest, darkest secret had just been dragged kicking and screaming into the light.

Annelise caught every nuanced shift in her reaction. Her heart plummeted straight to the floor.

"Harriet," Annelise pressed, lowering her voice with intense urgency. "What... what do you know?"