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From Phoebe's vantage point, Uncle Billy was still wearing a ski mask. If she could convince Billy that they still didn't know his identity, perhaps he would retreat to preserve his hidden guilt. He had no idea they had pieced together the past.
Chloe and Uncle Billy had disappeared into the clearing ahead. Dread pooled in Phoebe's stomach—she had lost sight of them both. Then to her left, she spotted them. Chloe was pinned in the snow beneath Uncle Billy, struggling to get free.
As Kenneth and Phoebe ran toward the grappling figures on the ground, Chloe had somehow managed to seize an opportunity for freedom. With what had to be adrenaline-fueled strength, she drove her elbow backward with precision and force. The connection with her attacker's jaw was solid, and the man grunted as he toppled backward into the snow.
Phoebe's original plan wasn't going to work.
"Uncle Billy, stop!"
Her words tore through the air.
Chloe managed to scramble a few feet away from Billy, her chest heaving with exertion and fear as she tried to put distance between them. Billy lay on his back for a split second before suddenly lunging for Chloe. He managed to grab her foot and yank her toward him. Before Phoebe or Kenneth could react, Uncle Billy had pressed the tip of a knife directly against Chloe's face.
"It wasn't…it wasn't supposed to be like this."
Phoebe quickly extended her arm, preventing her father from advancing toward them. Uncle Billy and Chloe were still sprawled on the ground, but there was no guarantee that Kenneth could reach them in time before Uncle Billy panicked and went through with killing someone else.
Chloe lay motionless, save for the shallow rise and fall of her chest. Her jacket and scarf obscured most of her neck, but the vulnerable pulse point beneath her chin remained perilously exposed. The fabric did little more than provide a thin veil between life and death.
"How was it supposed to be, Uncle Billy?" Phoebe somehow kept her voice steady, despite the terror that coursed through her body. "Francie? Jenna? They are both gone because of you."
Billy’s breathing was labored, puffs of frosted air escaping his lips. The black fabric of the ski mask did nothing to hide his identity now they were near one another. His grip on the knife never wavered as he met Phoebe’s gaze.
"Francie's death was an accident. I swear!"
Kenneth’s jaw clenched at Billy's admission, because the same couldn't be said for Jenna. Phoebe managed to keep her focus on her uncle. She needed him to admit the truth. She had also noticed Chloe working to remove one of her gloves. It was obvious she planned on attempting some type of escape, and Phoebe would do whatever was needed to help her succeed.
"Francie and I had a…thing. It wasn't serious. I ended it when Trish accused me of having an affair. You have to believe me! I love Trish. I do."
"Is that why you killed Francie?" Phoebe asked as she finally lowered her arm. Her father had gone stock still as he listened to Uncle Billy's confession. "To stop Francie from telling Trish that Ethan was your son?"
"I didn't even know!" Billy screamed, jostling Chloe in the process. Her glove fell onto the snow beside her. "I didn't know until that night. Francie called me up to meet near the cliffs behind the football field. She said that she was leaving town and taking Ethan with her. Francie said she couldn't leave without telling me the truth."
"How could you not know Ethan was yours?" Phoebe took a step closer to Billy, dragging his gaze slightly upward so that he wouldn't notice Chloe attempting to unzip her purse. Phoebe finally understood that Chloe was trying to gain access to her stun gun. "You had an affair with Francie, and then nine months later she gives birth to a baby boy?"
"I wasn't the only man Francie was seeing back then!" Billy yelled out in frustration. "Kenneth, you heard all the rumors, too. By the time I heard about Francie being pregnant, Trish and I were planning our wedding. When the kid was born, Trish and I had already purchased our first house. I'm telling you the truth. I didn't know Ethan was mine until the day Francie told me she was leaving town."
"Why didn't you just let Francie leave, Uncle Billy?" Phoebe asked with disgust. "Why kill her?"
"How many times do I have to tell you that it was an accident?" Billy struggled to stand, but there hadn't been an opportunity for Phoebe or her father to take advantage of the momentary slip of the knife. Chloe had no choice but to lift her hands to hold onto Billy's arm in order to steady herself. "I was in shock, Francie was about to leave, and I still needed to ask her questions. I grabbed her arm, and when she pulled away, our combined weight must have been too much. Part of the cliff gave way, and Francie just…fell. By the time I found a secure place to look over the edge, her body was being dragged out by the tide."
Phoebe had no sympathy for the man who had ended her sister's life. He had yet to even admit to Jenna's murder, but Phoebe was more concerned with Chloe's safety. She still hadn't been able to unzip her purse to gain access to the stun gun.
"There was no way I could come forward as Ethan's father after Francie died. Who would have believed me that Francie fell by accident? Plus, I was already married to Trish. We had just bought our first house together. She was so happy, making plans for our future. I wasn't going to ruin everything by confessing to some freak accident."
The wind began to pick up, rustling the bare branches.
"So you just went along with everyone's assumption that Francie left town? You pretended Ethan didn't exist? You left your son to be raised without a father rather than admit the truth, Uncle Billy!"
"No! I watched out for that boy over the years. I even left Francie's necklace for him to have something of hers. How the hell was I to know that he would give it to that girl?"
"How did you get the necklace, Uncle Billy?"
"It was lying there on the ground near Francie's car. I picked it up and shoved it in my pocket. A few weeks later, I left it on the Turner’s porch for Ethan’s grandmother to find."
"And Francie’s car?"
"I drove it out to the Swanson's farm and rolled it into their lake."
