Chapter 7
I turned toward my mother.
She was sitting across the interview room.
Bell had brought her in before playing the video.
Her face collapsed.
"No."
I stood.
"You were there?"
"Ryan—"
"Were you in the car?"
She started crying.
"I didn't know what Thomas planned."
"Answer me!"
"Yes!"
The word destroyed whatever remained between us.
Emily stood beside me.
Bell stayed near the door.
Mom covered her face.
"I begged him to stop."
"Before or after Sarah went off the road?"
Mom sobbed.
"Before."
"Then why didn't you tell the police?"
"Thomas threatened me."
"For thirty years?"
"He threatened you."
I froze.
"What?"
"He said if I talked, he'd make sure I lost you."
"You weren't my mother."
"I was the only mother you had!"
Her voice cracked.
I stared at her.
She looked older than she had yesterday.
Smaller.
But I couldn't feel sympathy yet.
"Did you watch Sarah die?"
Mom shook her head violently.
"No. Thomas wouldn't let me get out."
"Grandma said she was behind you."
"She arrived seconds later. Thomas told her Sarah lost control."
"And Grandma believed him?"
"For a few days."
Bell asked, "What changed?"
Mom wiped her face.
"She found damage on Thomas's car."
Bell leaned closer.
"Damage consistent with contact?"
Mom nodded.
"And Michael helped repair it."
Everything fit.
Michael knew.
Dad needed his silence.
Years later, Michael died.
Chloe became dependent on Dad.
Maybe not out of love.
Maybe as insurance.
"Does Chloe know about Sarah?" I asked.
Mom nodded.
"Some of it."
"How much?"
"Enough to hate your father."
That surprised me.
"Then why help him steal Grandma's estate?"
"Because Thomas told Chloe Michael's death wasn't natural."
I stared.
"He threatened her too?"
Mom nodded.
"He convinced her that if the old cases were reopened, Michael would be remembered as a murderer."
Bell interrupted.
"That doesn't excuse assaulting Emily."
"I know."
Mom looked at Emily.
"I know."
Emily said nothing.
There was nothing Mom could say that would erase what happened.
Bell received permission to question Dad again after the video was authenticated.
I wasn't allowed inside.
Hours passed.
Then Bell returned.
"Your father denies causing the crash."
"Of course."
"But he made one mistake."
"What?"
"He claimed your grandmother couldn't have witnessed it because she was at home that evening."
"So?"
"We never told him where she claimed to be."
Bell almost smiled.
"He knew what was on the video."
It wasn't a confession.
But it mattered.
Then Bell told me something worse.
"We also searched Chloe's apartment."
My stomach tightened.
"What did you find?"
"Copies of Emily's trust documents."
Emily's face went white.
"How?"
Bell looked at her.
"Someone accessed your attorney's office."
Daniel.
The break-in.
"They were planning to steal my inheritance?"
"More than that."
Bell placed a document before us.
It was a forged authorization.
Emily's signature appeared at the bottom.
Transfer request: $1,850,000.
"That's almost everything Grandma left me," Emily whispered.
Bell nodded.
"They intended to move it into an offshore account."
I felt sick.
"If I hadn't come home..."
"They likely expected your wife to sign willingly."
Emily laughed bitterly.
"They beat me because I wouldn't."
Bell nodded.
Then an officer opened the door.
"Detective, you need to see this."
Bell left.
When he returned, his face was different.
"What now?" I asked.
"Your sister wants to make a deal."
"Chloe?"
"She says she'll testify against your father."
"For what?"
Bell looked directly at me.
"Not only financial crimes."
My throat tightened.
"What does she know?"
"She says she has proof your father confessed to killing Sarah."
Emily gasped.
Bell continued.
"But she has one condition."
May you like
"What?"
"She wants to speak to you first."
