I'm now 59.
Bella would've turned 30 on December 17th.
Shanann would've turned 60 on January 10th.
Niko would've turned 25 on January 31st.
CeCe would be turning 29 on July 17th.
Jim had killed Shanann 26 years ago.
Nichol had killed the girls because I wouldn't kill Shanann.
They had me take the fall for them.
I love my girls and my Wife.
I'd never kill them.
I explained that to my Lawyers, John Walsh and Kathryn Herold before accepting the plea deal.
I never should have accepted the plea deal.
I should've taken my chances with a Trial.
I only confessed because of Dwayne and Nichol pressuring me.
I was in the weight room at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupan, Wisconsin.
I was transferred out of Colorado because of all the threats I got.
Other inmates were in here.
They've learned to accept that I was charged with killing CeCe and Bella.
The threats had stopped over the years.
The COs were watching us closely.
It was to make sure a fight doesn't break out.
It's normally the buffer guys picking fights with each other to see who's stronger.
The TV was on the news.
"It is reported that Scarlett Charlie Jones-Epple, 30 was injured in the line of duty. She has been a Firefighter Lieutenant with the FCFD for 10 years. Here is a spokesperson for the FCFD."
"I'm Leo Stevens, a spokesperson for the FCFD. We are here to talk about Lieutenant Jones-Epple. About two hours ago, she fell through an unstable roof into a fire after venting it to save her team. She is a mother, a Wife, a daughter, a Sister, a granddaughter, and a niece. We hope Lieutenant Jones-Epple recovers quickly and can join us back out in the field shortly. Lieutenant Jones-Epple lost her husband, Chase in a fire a few years ago. She is our youngest Firefighter out here. She started volunteering at 14. Lieutenant Jones-Epple was going out on calls with us at 15, having completed her Firefighter classes."
He walked away.
"Scarlett Charlie Jones-Epple has been a dedicated Firefighter for 16 years. This is the first time she's ever gotten injured in the line of duty. Lieutenant Jones-Epple has lost a lot of people over the years. But she uses that loss to further her career. Lieutenant Jones-Epple is mother to Serena Celeste, 10, Sebastian Charles, 8, Celeste Charlotte, 6, Chase Lee, 4, Shanann Celeste, 2, and Mason Christopher, two months. She is the legally void Wife of Chase Lucas White. Lieutenant Jones-Epple is the Wife of Mason Christopher Epple. She is the biological daughter of Sofia Jones and adoptive daughter of Steve Jones. Lieutenant Jones-Epple is the granddaughter of Frank Rzucek and Sandy Rzucek. She is the niece of Frankie Rzucek. Lieutenant Jones-Epple is the older biological Sister of Skylar Marie Jones-Epple and Noah Leland Jones."
"Aren't the Rzuceks your in-laws?"
"How old is the Firefighter?"
"30. Why?"
"My daughter turned 30 on December 17th."
"People don't come back from the dead, Watts."
"I know."
I got up.
I walked to one of the phones.
I was calling Walsh.
"John Walsh speaking."
"Did you see the segment on the injured Firefighter?"
"Uh... Yeah, I did. Kathryn and me are looking into it. But I'll head out there to explain to you what we got so far."
"Okay. Thanks."
"Anytime."
I hung up.
I went back to exercising.
Two hours later
"Watts, your Lawyer is here."
I stood up.
I followed the CO to the visitation room.
Walsh was sitting in here.
"Thanks for coming."
"Of course."
"But this is way too much of a coincidence."
"We did a deep dive on Scarlett's Instagram and Facebook along with Skylar's and Sofia's."
"Okay."
"Scarlett is 30. Skylar is 28. Sofia is 60. Scarlett's Birthday is December 17th. Skylar's Birthday is July 15th. Sofia's Birthday is January 8th."
"Okay."
"Scarlett is married to Mason Christopher Epple. They got married on December 3rd, 2041. She was married to her Firefighter husband, Chase Lucas White before he died in a fire. Scarlett has 10 year old daughter, Serena Celeste White, eight year old son, Sebastian Charles White, six year old daughter, Celeste Charlotte, and four year old son, Chase Lee White with Chase. She has two year old daughter, Shanann Celeste and two month old son, Mason Christopher with Mason."
"Mm-hmm."
"Skylar is married to Nathan Dalton Epple. They got married on July 3rd, 2041. They have a seven year old son, Christopher Leland Epple, five year old daughter, Addison Shanann Epple, and three year old son, Frank Chase Epple."
"Mm-hmm."
"Sofia is married to Steven Julian Jones. They got married on November 2nd, 2029. She has Scarlett, Skylar, her 25 year old son, Noah Leland Jones, 20 year old son, Chandler Dalton Jones, 18 year old daughter, Isabella Marie Jones, and 16 year old son, Chase Adam Jones. Scarlett, Skylar, and Noah she has with a undisclosed man. But Chandler, Isabella, and Chase Sofia has with Steve."
"Steve Jones?"
"Yeah. Why?"
I looked down.
I never liked Steve because he had feelings for Shanann.
She didn't return his feelings directly.
I felt the chemistry between them when I met Steve for the first time in North Carolina.
"That name strikes a nerve. Who is he?"
"Shanann's friend she had feelings for. But hid them."
"Well, that'd piss anybody off."
I laughed.
"Scarlett drives a 2040 white Lexus."
"Oh."
"She works at Le-Vel part time. Miller lets her for some reason."
"Miller is a pretty good guy. He let's a lot of people work part time."
"Like Nickole Atkinson."
"Exactly."
"Addy Molony and Cristina Meecham work full-time along with Sofia and Skylar."
"Mm-hmm."
"Sofia bought 2825 Saratoga Trail from Frank. That was in 2024."
"Mm."
"According to DCP , kids respond better to growing up in environments they know."
"Mm."
"As to why, Scarlett and Skylar stopped throwing fits after they moved in."
"Okay."
"We got this off Sofia's Instagram. It's from 2029."
"Okay."
They were on the front porch.
"Noah," "Skylar," and "Sofia" were sitting in the front.
"Noah" was sitting on the left side with his feet dangling above the first step.
He has short brown hair and bright green eyes.
"Skylar" was sitting in the middle with her feet on the first step.
She has long blonde hair flowing down her back and bright hazel eyes.
"Sofia" was sitting on the right side with her feet on the first step.
She has long dark brown hair parted on both shoulders and bright hazel eyes.
"Scarlett" and Steve were in the back.
"Scarlett" was standing behind "Sofia."
She has long brown hair flowing down her back and light brown eyes.
They are the same shade of brown as mine.
She had her arm wrapped around "Scarlett."
Steve was squatting behind "Skylar."
He had his right index finger on her right shoulder.
"Happy Thanksgiving from the Jones family to yours. #Teenagers #Goofballs #HappyThanksgiving."
He swept to the next picture.
"Scarlett" was on Steve's back.
"Skylar" was making a funny face.
"Noah" was sitting on "Sofia's" lap.
It looked like a Thanksgiving post Shanann posted once.
We were on the front porch.
CeCe and Shanann were sitting in front.
CeCe was sitting in the middle with her feet dangling above the first step.
Her blonde hair was in pigtails on either side of her head.
Shanann was sitting on the right side with her feet on the first step.
Her black hair was parted on both shoulders.
Bella and me were in the back.
Bella was standing behind Shanann.
Her short brown hair flowed down to the beginning of her neck.
She had her arm wrapped around Bella.
I was squatting behind CeCe.
I had my right index finger on her right shoulder.
CeCe tended to run off when Shanann tried taking family photos.
Or she just wouldn't smile.
"Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! #Blessed #Family #Grateful #Daughters #Colorado #Lovethem #Theyareeverythingweneed #Goofballs"
"We got this off Scarlett's Facebook. This is from 2040. This is Chase, not Mason."
"Okay."
They were on the front porch.
Sebastian and "Scarlett" were sitting in front.
Sebastian was sitting in the middle with his feet dangling above the first step.
He has short brown hair and light blue eyes.
"Scarlett" was sitting on the right side with her feet on the first step.
She had her long brown hair flowing down her back.
"Scarlett's" brown eyes were sparkling in the sunlight.
She was pregnant.
Celeste was sitting on "Scarlett's" lap.
She has long blonde hair flowing down to the middle of her back and bright hazel eyes.
She had one of her arms wrapped around her.
Serena and Chase were in the back.
Serena was standing behind "Scarlett."
She has light brown hair and bright blue eyes.
I thought Serena's eyes would be brown.
"Scarlett" had her other arm wrapped around her.
Chase was squatting behind Sebastian.
He had his right index finger on his right shoulder.
"It's official! We're adding another member to the White Jones family!"
Walsh swept to the next picture.
Serena, Sebastian, and Celeste had their hands on her stomach.
"Baby White coming in June of 2040."
"This is from three months later."
"Okay."
He scrolled past seven posts.
It was a collage of pictures.
It was pictures of Chase and her.
"I have some terrible news to share. Today in the line of duty, we lost Firefighter Chase Lucas White. A dedicated father, husband, son, and Uncle. My heart is broken beyond repair right now. I can't imagine life without him. The kids are heartbroken by his death. I know what I'm naming my baby boy when he's born. I'll love you forever, babe. See ya on the flip side, Chase Lee White. You will be missed forever."
"She was four months pregnant when she lost her husband."
Walsh scrolled to the next post.
"We're gonna ring the bell 20 times. Five rings at a time to signify Firefighter White has come home for the last time."
"Scarlett" had the black veil on.
She had the American flag in her arms.
"Lieutenant White is gonna ring the bell."
"Sweetheart, can you hold this for me?"
"Of course."
Serena took it from her.
"Scarlett" headed up on the podium.
She took the dong from the Captain.
"Scarlett" rang the bell 20 times.
Five rings at a time.
"I'm delivering the eulogy."
"Okay."
"I stand here today to say a final goodbye to my husband- The father of my four children, my best friend, and the love of my life.
I'd like to be able to share the "real Chase" with you- The one you've never seen or heard before- And tell you secrets about his personality and his quirks but I can't. There were no secrets with Chase. He was the real deal all the time. Chase was open and honest about his struggles and humbly gave God all the glory for turning his life around. You'll notice in any video you see of Chase singing "Whiskey Lullaby" that he never failed to point towards Heaven when he sang the line "While the angels sang a Whiskey Lullaby."
A few days ago, I put on protective glasses to watch the eclipse. It was disorientating. Everything was so dark. I felt like I had suddenly gone blind. But when I gazed up at the sun, I could still feel its warmth and see its soft glow through the lenses.
Then I noticed a little silver of pure darkness begin to cover the light.
When I took off my glasses temporarily, everything around me looked fairly normal. The change was very subtle. Almost unnoticeable at first.
But each time I looked at the sun, I could see the darkness spreading, growing, and blacking out the light just a little bit more.
The sun was still there... And still shining... But it wasn't as radiant as usual.
Gradually, a little more darkness crept across the sun until the moon almost completely blocked it out- And the world became darker and colder.
It was surreal. A strange feeling of fear and sadness washed over me.
It was only when the eclipse was at its totality that I could finally take off my protective glasses for a moment and take a courageous look directly at the face of the warming sun.
Although I was prepared- I'd read all the articles, studied the science, spoken to friends, and knew what to expect- It took everything I had to face the sun as it went dark.
And then he was gone.
As I stood there, frozen, a small burst of light emerged from one edge of the darkness, changing the total eclipse into a shining diamond ring.
On the day I lost Chase, I felt like I was in total darkness. In the weeks since, I've been searching for that new light to emerge from the other side. Waiting for the world to come back to life so that I can see clearly again. As I look at the ring on my finger, the ring that symbolizes the love and light that Chase enveloped me in for the last five years, I find immense comfort in knowing that there is light on the other side.
Chase truly is where the light is shining on him now- And for all eternity."
She had broke down half-way through the eulogy.
"Scarlett" got off the podium.
"Skylar" wrapped her arms around her.
"What can I do?"
"You can't do anything. You can't fix this. Nobody can."
It's how CeCe used to have her arms around Bella.
"I'm so sorry this happened to you, Scar."
"Being a Firefighter is dangerous. We knew what we were getting ourselves into when we signed up for it."
She walked away, sniffling.
"At least, Chase wasn't a cheater or a liar."
"I didn't drive him into another woman's arms by my actions."
"Rude and untrue."
"Hmm! Sky, am I wrong?!"
"I don't know! Are you wrong?!"
"Did Mom drive him to cheat?!"
"No matter what she was doing, it didn't give him the right to cheat!"
"This is why Skylar is my favorite."
"Because she tells you what you want to hear and I don't. And I never will."
"Another thing that distinguishes you from your bio father."
"And the fact that my love for my kids is real and not an act, like his."
"I really don't think it was an act."
"I guess we'll never know because he's dead, right?"
"Of course."
She sniffled, walking out with Serena, Sebastian, and Celeste.
"Did she post Chase's proposal to her?"
"She did."
Walsh played a video.
"It's Christmas. So, merry Christmas, y'all. Serena and Sebastian got a lot of presents. They loved all of them."
"Scarlett" laughed.
"I got a lot of presents too. From my parents, Aunt, Uncle, Nonna, Pop, and cousins. It's ridiculous how many presents Sky, No, and me get. It's like "I'm glad you're here" stacks of presents. It's crazy."
She giggled.
"As to why I only opened half of them before giving up."
"Scarlett" turned the camera to a big stack of presents.
"Sky and No just dive in their stacks and finish them."
She laughed.
"Mom, Dad, and Chase are cooking Breakfast. It reminds me of when my bio Dad and Mom used to make Christmas morning breakfast together."
"Scarlett" looked down.
"Mom wants me to believe my bio Dad is dead. But I looked for his death certificate. My bio Dad isn't dead. He's rotting in Jail where he belongs. Adulterer."
"Are we on this again, Scar?"
"Sofia" sighed.
"Can't you let go of the past?"
"Can you?"
"I have. But you can't seem to let go of it."
"Let's go check on the kids."
She walked up the stairs.
"Scarlett" opened Bella's door.
Serena was coloring on the bed.
The camera panned around the room.
The walls were lavender.
"Serena Celeste" was on the wall in black.
There were black butteries on the wall.
There were two pictures on the wall.
One was of "Scarlett" and Chase with baby Serena in between them.
The other one was of him kissing her baby bump.
"Scarlett" shut the door.
She opened another door.
Sebastian was sitting on his bed, putting a puzzle together.
The camera panned around the room.
The walls were teal.
"Sebastian" was on the wall in white.
She shut the door.
"This is Skylar's room."
"Scarlett" opened a door.
It was CeCe's room.
The walls were light blue.
"Skylar" was on the wall in white.
She shut the door.
"Mom gave Chase and me the original Master."
"Scarlett" opened the door.
It was the Master bedroom.
The camera panned around the room.
The walls were purple.
"Scarlett Charlotte" and "Chase Lucas" were above the bed in black.
There were two pictures on the wall.
He zoomed in on them.
One was Shanann, baby Bella, and me.
The other one was of me kissing Shanann's baby bump.
"Holy shit."
She shut the door.
"This is Noah's room."
"Scarlett" opened the door.
The camera panned around the room.
The walls were navy blue.
"Noah Leland" was on the wall in black.
"Why is only my name in white on the wall, Mom?!"
"It's called being unique, Sweetheart."
"Scar, do you hear this bullshit?!"
"Yeah!"
She shut the door.
"What are you doing?!"
"Checking on the kids!"
"Okay!"
"Scarlett" walked downstairs.
"My genius boyfriend put the gifts from him on the bottom of that stack."
"Rude."
She opened presents.
"Who knew opening presents was so tiring?"
"Scarlett" was pregnant.
"Is she ever not pregnant?"
"It's two years between all of them."
She finally reached the last present.
"Scarlett" gasped as she opened it.
It was a ring box.
Chase took it from her.
"Was it worth it to the bottom?"
"Scarlett" laughed.
"I've loved for you for years. I am never gonna stop loving you. Will you marry me?"
"Yes."
"Yes?" He questioned.
She nodded her head.
"I will marry you, Chase White."
Chase got up off one knee.
They kissed.
He slid the diamond Engagement ring on "Scarlett's" left ring finger.
"It's official, y'all. If you didn't find out from my Sister, Skylar's Facebook or Instagram. Chase made Christmas 2035 an unforgettable day. We decided on forever!"
She was showing off the ring in front of the camera.
The Wedding band is intertwined.
"This is from 2041. This is Mason. It's after he adopted her kids."
"Mm-hmm."
"Since he signed the papers at their Wedding."
"How do you know that?"
"It was finalized while they were on their honeymoon."
"Oh."
They were on the front porch.
Celeste, Sebastian, and "Scarlett" were sitting across the front.
Celeste was sitting on the left side with her feet dangling above the first step.
Her long blonde hair reached the end of her back.
Sebastian was sitting in the middle with his feet on the first step.
His short brown hair had grown a little bit.
"Scarlett" was sitting on the right side with her feet on the first step.
Her long brown hair was parted on both shoulders.
It reached down pass "Scarlett's" thighs.
Chase was sitting on her lap.
"Scarlett" was pregnant again.
Her brown eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
Serena and Mason were in the back.
Serena was standing behind "Scarlett."
Her light brown hair reached the end of her back.
She had her arm wrapped around Serena.
Mason was squatting behind Sebastian.
He had his right index finger on his right shoulder.
"Anybody can be replaced. It just takes bigger and better people to be able to start over. To pick themselves back up."
"Are you referring to your ex-husband and father of your children, Chase?"
"No! But thank you for bringing up a rather dark period."
"Do your children even remember their father?"
"Serena and Sebastian remember Chase. Celeste remembers the idea of him. Chase never met Chase because he died before his birth."
"Then who are you referring to?"
"If you look at the way @SteveJones is in the picture on @SofiaJones's Instagram, @ChaseLWhite is posing, and the way @MasonCEpple is posing, you should be able to figure it out."
"CW is your bio father."
"No. CM is my bio father."
"You look just like CW. There is no way CM is your bio father."
"I guess you'll never know which Chris is my bio father, will you? I'll take that secret with me to my grave. @SteveJones is my father. That's all that matters. Neither of them matter to me. Not anymore."
"You sound just like CW."
"You're very persistent. I gotta give you that. Insistent that CW is my bio father."
"CM is the bio father of Scarlett, Skylar, and Noah. End of discussion." "Sofia" chimed in.
"Prove it."
"I don't have to prove anything to you. I think I'd know the bio father of my kids."
"Is Chr-- Is Chris Miller the bio father of your youngest kids?"
"No! That's crazy."
"Is there even a chance that he's their bio father?"
"No."
"Okay. I just wanted to make sure."
Walsh played a video.
"Scarlett," Mason, "Skylar," a male, and "Noah" were in a club.
"Um... Two bottles of Bollinger and five glasses please." The male ordered.
"Are we celebrating something?" "Skylar" questioned.
They were holding hands.
He kissed her hand, looking at Mason.
He sighed, standing up.
Mason cleared his throat to get "Scarlett's" attention since she was talking to "Noah."
"Um..."
He cleared his throat.
"At a certain point, uh... The idea of spending my life with one person seemed... unimaginable."
"Skylar's" mouth hung open in shock.
"And then I met Scarlett. And I fell head over heels in love."
A realization look appeared in her eyes.
"Scarlett" laughed as Mason went down on one knee in front of her.
"I fell in love with your beauty, with your grace, your wisdom, for everything that you are."
He brought the ring box out, opening it.
"And now the only thing I can't imagine is... Is being without you. Ever."
She was staring down at the ring.
"So... Marry me?"
All of them were waiting for "Scarlett's" answer.
She had continued staring down at the ring.
"Please." Mason added.
He chuckled.
"Yes."
Mason sighed.
He chuckled.
"Yes, yes, yes."
They kissed.
Mason slid the diamond Engagement ring on "Scarlett's" left ring finger.
They hugged.
"These are your kids. I'm gonna talk to Rourke. See what I can do."
"Okay."
Walsh left.
I went on my tablet.
I was on Facebook.
I searched "Skylar Jones-Epple."
Her bio said
"Graduating class of 2033. Mother of three, Wife, Sister, and Daughter."
"Skylar" had uploaded a video.
Her hair was thrown up in a Messy Bun on top of her head.
"As some of you may know... The strongest member of our family, Scarlett is currently fighting for her life. At 5:30 AM this morning, we got the call that Scar got injured in the line of duty. She was venting an unstable roof and fell through it into the fire. The Rapid Response Team was able to find Scar quickly due to her sterling silver chain with the hearts on it. She gave it to me to hold onto for her before she passed out again. Scar doesn't trust Noah, Chandler, Isabella, or Chase with it. God knows what Mom would do it when she saw the sterling silver heart on it."
"I heard that, Sky!"
She ignored "Noah."
"Scar needs all the prayers she can get. It is an extremely dangerous job she chose. Our family is barely holding it together. Especially the kids, Noah, Chandler, Isabella, and Chase.
Love and kisses,
Sky Jones-Epple.
Peace, peeps.
P.S: Thank you for all the prayers for her so far. They are appreciated more than you know."
I searched "Sofia Jones."
A picture of "Scarlett" in the hospital bed was on her Facebook.
She had burns all over.
Wires were connected to "Scarlett."
Somebody was holding her hand.
I had a pretty solid guess who it was.
"Prayers for the Jones-Epple family. Our strongest member of the family, Scarlett is currently fighting for her life. Mason got at the call at 5:30 AM this morning that she got injured in the line of duty. After venting an unstable roof to save her Firefighter family."
I searched "MasonCEpple."
A picture of "Scarlett" in the hospital bed was on his Facebook.
"My gorgeous Wife, @ScarlettJones-Epple got injured in the line of duty today at 5:20 AM this morning. I got the call at 5:30 AM this morning. She needs all the prayers she can get after falling through a roof into a fire. The worst case scenario when and if Scar wakes up is having burns all over. I will do whatever it takes to make sure she wakes up. Even if it involves asking Scar's bio father for help. His voice alone haunts her to this day."
"Let's hope it doesn't get to that point." "Sofia" had commented.
"I know you would do the same thing."
"If it came down to saving her life? Yeah."