Chapter 7
Emily sank into the rocking chair.
“My father helped cover up your father’s death.”
“We don’t know that,” I said.
“He was there.”
Claire examined the photograph.
“This picture could have been altered.”
I sent it to Detective Ruiz.
He asked us not to touch anything else in the box.
Twenty minutes later, officers collected it.
The waiting was unbearable.
Emily walked from room to room, crying silently.
“My father was a good man,” she said. “He couldn’t have helped Diane murder someone.”
“Maybe he arrived afterward.”
“Then why didn’t he call the police?”
Neither of us had an answer.
The next morning, Diane and Mark appeared in court.
Diane wore a gray jail uniform.
Her wrists were chained.
She looked smaller than I remembered, but the hatred in her eyes had not changed.
The prosecutor described the attack on Emily, the kidnapping of Rose, the stolen trust money, and the new evidence concerning my father’s death.
Diane’s lawyer called everything a family misunderstanding.
Then he accused Emily of manipulating me for money.
I almost stood up.
Emily gripped my hand.
“Let him talk,” she whispered.
The kitchen video played.
Everyone watched Diane force Emily toward the trash bin.
The judge’s expression hardened.
Bail was denied.
Mark’s lawyer argued that he had been controlled by Diane.
The prosecutor answered with photographs of our destroyed nursery and testimony about the rifle.
His bail was denied too.
As guards led them away, Diane shouted across the courtroom.
“Robert Bennett killed your father!”
Emily flinched.
Diane smiled.
“He found us after the fall. Thomas was alive. Robert told me how to make it look like an accident.”
The judge ordered her removed.
Reporters followed us outside.
Cameras surrounded Emily.
“Did your father participate in murder?”
“Did you marry Daniel for his inheritance?”
“Is your baby entitled to the trust?”
I stood in front of my wife.
“She has nothing to say.”
That afternoon, Detective Ruiz called us to the station.
A forensic specialist had examined the photograph.
It was genuine.
But the message on the back had been written recently.
“By Diane?” I asked.
“The handwriting appears to be Mark’s.”
Ruiz placed an old audio recorder on the table.
“This was hidden beneath the documents in your lockbox.”
He pressed play.
Robert Bennett’s voice filled the room.
My father-in-law had recorded himself weeks before his death.
If Daniel ever hears this, I owe him the truth.
Emily began sobbing.
I took her hand.
The recording continued.
Robert said Diane had called him after Thomas was injured.
When he arrived, Thomas was lying beside the driveway.
Mark was panicking.
Diane demanded that Robert protect the family.
He refused.
He called an ambulance.
But while he was speaking to the dispatcher, Diane and Mark placed Thomas in the car.
Robert followed them to the ravine.
He photographed everything.
By the time police arrived, Diane had already claimed Thomas was driving alone.
“Why didn’t Robert expose her?” I asked.
Ruiz restarted the final part.
Diane threatened Emily.
She knew where Emily went to school.
She promised Robert that his daughter would disappear if he spoke.
Robert surrendered his photographs but was told they had been lost.
He spent years collecting financial evidence instead.
“He wasn’t protecting Diane,” Emily whispered. “He was trying to stop her.”
I pulled her into my arms.
“I’m sorry I doubted you.”
“You had every reason.”
“No. I had fear.”
Ruiz gave us one more piece of news.
The original emergency call had been recovered from an archived system.
Robert’s voice could be heard requesting help for Thomas.
Then Diane’s voice appeared in the background.
If Daniel learns what happened, I’ll take everything from him.
The truth was finally coming apart.
But as we left the station, Emily doubled over.
Pain crossed her face.
“Daniel.”
I caught her.
Water spread across the floor beneath her.
“Our baby is coming.”
A car engine roared nearby.
May you like
Claire screamed.
I turned and saw a black SUV racing toward us.
