Edric still believed that money could erase facts and rewrite reality.
Through the heavy door, he called out, “Faye, tell them your sister started a fight, and I will forgive you.”
I looked at Detective Martin and asked, “May I answer him?”
She opened the door but stood firmly between us to ensure our safety.
Edric gave me the same terrifying smile he used before every single beating.
“Be smart and tell them the truth,” he commanded.
“I was smart,” I said, my voice echoing in the hallway. “That is exactly why every word you said for three months is already with the police.”
His face emptied of all color, and he looked smaller than I had ever seen him.
Brenda stumbled backward and shrieked, “You recorded us?”
Chloe sat up in her bed despite the nurse’s protest and looked at our mother.
“You taught us to be quiet, Mom, but you never taught us to be helpless,” she said.
The expensive lawyer stopped speaking and realized there was nothing he could do to save them now.
By dawn, investigators had searched our house, his downtown office, and a storage unit rented under our mother’s maiden name.
