“Ten minutes, princess. We can’t be late.”
“Where are you taking us?”
“That’s for you to see.”
“Dress warm. It’s nippy!” Z called as Lucas shut the door. I quickly dressed in jeans and a red blouse. They were dressed in suits, which meant we weren’t exactly taking a walk in the park. I grabbed clothes for Caylen before heading downstairs and finding them in the kitchen helping themselves to the Garretts food.
“Seriously?”
Z was dipping celery in a jar of peanut butter. How could they just break into someone’s home, terrorize their guests, and eat their food?
“I know,” he grumbled. “Normally, I wouldn’t eat celery, but they don’t have any apples.”
“Unbelievable,” I muttered as I dressed Caylen. Lucas helped himself to one of Tabitha’s blueberry pop tarts. I’d make sure to tell her exactly who the culprit was when she found one missing. That girl does not play about her blueberry pop tarts.
We left a few minutes later, and I grew nervous when we reached the city. I began to think I’d never see this place again. It didn’t exactly hold fond memories for me, but it did remind me of a time when I was free. I suppose I should take some responsibility for this new course my life had taken.
I hadn’t just looked back into the past. I’d stepped into it.Chapter Twenty-SixANGELI MISSED HER. I missed the hell out of her. And the worst part of all was keeping the promise that I’d stay the fuck away. I fingered her wedding ring in my pocket and tried to focus on the barrage of questions.
“Mr. Knight, it’s been three years since your father’s death. No one can ignore the obvious delay in your confession.”
My lawyer took a healthy swig of his water as he scribbled furiously on his legal pad. He played his part as the nervous lawyer well, though he had vehemently disagreed with my plan. The prosecutor also played his part. Getting District Attorney Patrick Turner, who had been in my pocket for years, to convince a judge to reopen my father’s murder case had been easy. Turner was more than willing to help me prove my guilt since he’d been trying to get out from under my thumb. As a last resort, if I couldn’t convince the court, I’d found Milly’s substitute from that night and paid her handsomely to testify that I’d threatened her. She’d truly believed Theo had killed Art, but money worked wonders.
“What are you asking?”
“The court would like to know, why now?”
I was ready to answer when the courtroom doors opened, and Lucas slipped inside. His absence this morning had been puzzling, but when he shifted, revealing the reason, my fist balled in my pants pocket. She looked confused as she walked through the door carrying Caylen. Z walked in behind them, and they all found a seat in the front row. It wasn’t until Mian started to lower herself on the wooden bench that she noticed me. It seemed as if her legs had given out when she finally sat.
Lucas might have thought bringing her here would make me change my mind, but it only made me more determined. She may not know how to fill the hole in her heart, but I did. It wasn’t a change of heart that led me here. It was a change in the rhythm. It now beat for her.
With my eyes drinking in Mian, possibly for the last time, I spoke into the mic.Chapter Twenty-SevenMIAN“For three years, my mom lived in guilt because of the choice I had made. She wanted to be punished—to be judged by the law and by God. I wouldn't let her. Four months ago, she went missing, and I don’t know if she’s dead, but I'm hoping the truth will either bring her home or bring her peace.”
I was grateful no one was paying attention to me. I couldn’t have hidden my confusion if I had been the one on the stand. Bea had spent the last moments of her life tied to a chair and forced to hear in detail about her husband’s infidelity—forced to remember why she’d killed him. The memory of her blood oozing from the sound of her head was still too vivid.
I tore my attention from Angel to lock gazes with Lucas. His eyes warned me to stay calm, but how could I?
Bea wasn’t missing.
She had been murdered.
And they had discarded her for no one to ever find. My stomach turned while my heart wept for her. It wept for Mom, and even for Art and Alon.
Death wasn’t just inevitable. It was endless.
“I was taught by my father to protect my mother at any cost. I knew that night I’d already lost her, but I chose to hold onto her and sent an innocent man to prison.”
My breath caught in my throat. I could feel my heart beating hard and fast against my chest.