PART 1

I thought I was honoring my daughter’s last wish.

Laura was my only child.

Before she died, she had made me promise one thing.

“Dad, whatever happens, make sure Emma is safe.”

Seven years ago, Laura was killed in a terrible accident on Highway 24.

The police told us the car had burned so badly there could be no viewing.

My son-in-law, Mark Stevens, stood beside my wife Eleanor and me through the funeral.

We received a sealed urn.

Six months later, Eleanor died too.

The doctors called it cardiac arrest.

I called it heartbreak.

After that, my world became painfully small.

I had my family grocery store, Miller’s Corner Market, and Emma.

Every January, I wired Mark $40,000.

School.

Food.

Clothes.