Justin opened the email and they read the letter, which stated that according to all of their research, the attached family trees were complete and accurate. Accessing the attached file and causing it to open, they examined the three family trees in turn. The first tree ended with Archibald and Emma, documenting the dates of their births, wedding, and deaths, as well as three generations before them. This tree was skimmed quickly before they moved on to the next page of the document. The second tree contained the “Warning Killer” victims and detailed how they were all related. Each of the victims was a direct descendent of Jebediah’s sister, Jaquline, and one couple had died every generation, until that branch of the family had been eradicated.

It was the third and final family tree that received the most attention. At the top of the screen was the name, Hannah Huntsbacker, who has the infant daughter Emma had never seen. Directly below her and Hannah’s husband was their daughter, Abigail, whose married name was Rogers. Scrolling down the family tree, Susan’s eyes widened when she saw her mother and father’s names on the next level. A small gasp escaped her lips as she read her own name at the bottom of the tree.

Justin looked from the screen to his wife and said, “Well, I guess now we know for sure that the Abigail Rogers related to Hannah Huntsbacker, and your grandmother, Abigail Rogers, were the same person.”

“More than that,” she stated without looking away from the image before her. “Now we know why I look so much like Emma.” She took a deep breath before continuing and said softly, “She was my great-great-grandmother.” Seeing the unshed tears glistening brightly in her eyes, Justin rubbed his hand up and down Susan’s back, silently offering comfort as the tears began to fall down her cheeks.

After a few minutes, she stood and wiped away the remaining traces of her tears. Noticing the concern on her husband’s face, she said, “Don’t worry, I’m okay.” Justin smiled, then yawned loudly as she moved over to the boxes and sat back down. “Justin, you’ve had a long day,” she said, “Why don’t you go up to bed. I’ll be along shortly.”

Yawning again, he asked, “Are you sure, baby? I’ll stay down here if you want me too.”

Looking over her shoulder, Susan caught him trying to contain yet another yawn. “You’re dead on your feet; you’ve been up for almost forty-eight hours straight. Go to bed! I’ll be alright. I’m only gonna separate these things,” she waved her hand over the boxes before her, “into what concerns the four couples before I go to bed, myself.”

After shutting down the laptop, Justin stood and said, “If you’re certain that you don’t need me to stay, I’ll go upstairs.” He crossed the room and pausing behind her, he kissed the top of her head and whispered, “Don’t stay up too much longer; you need your rest too. If you don’t come up soon, I’ll just come down and make you go to bed.”

Reaching up, Susan grabbed his hands and pulled him towards her. When he was close enough, she tilted her head back and kissed him sweetly, then whispered against his lips, “Go to bed, I’ll be up before you know it. I promise.”