Chapter 12 - THE FALL OF RHEA
Richard was arrested.
Daniel was arrested.
The detective was arrested.
My mother surrendered.
But Rhea disappeared.
For three days, nothing happened.
Then she called me.
“Meet me.”
“No.”
“I have something you need.”
“I'm done listening to you.”
“You're not.”
She sent a photograph.
Perrin's stuffed dog.
The toy he had been clutching when I found him.
It was the only thing he had left from the night Elise disappeared.
I met Rhea at an abandoned church.
She stood alone.
“You don't have to be afraid,” she said.
“I stopped being afraid when I found my son.”
She looked at me.
“I didn't know how far they would go.”
“You locked him in a wall.”
“I was ordered to.”
“You chose to obey.”
She cried.
For the first time, she looked human.
“I loved you.”
“No.”
“I did.”
“You loved what I represented.”
She lowered her head.
Then she handed me a drive.
“This proves Richard ordered everything.”
I took it.
“Why give me this?”
“Because I know what happens when you stay loyal to people who don't care if you live.”
She turned to leave.
Police surrounded the church.
Rhea stopped.
I hadn't called them.
She looked at me.
“You knew?”
“No.”
Then someone shouted.
“Down!”
A shot rang out.
Rhea fell.
I caught her.
Her blood stained my hands.
She looked at me.
“I never touched Perrin.”
“You don't get to make that excuse.”
“I know.”
Her eyes closed.
But she was alive.
The police took her away.
The drive contained one final secret.
Richard hadn't been the leader.
Someone else had been above him.
Someone with enough power to control everyone.
The name was hidden behind a password.
And only one person knew it.
May you like
My mother.
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