Chapter 15 - WHAT LILY BELIEVEDI reached Lily twenty-eight minutes later.
She was sitting on a bedroom floor.
Her knees were pulled to her chest.
The tablet lay facedown beside her.
She looked at me when I entered.
Then she looked away.
My heart broke.
“Lily.”
She did not answer.
I knelt several feet away.
I wanted to rush toward her.
I forced myself not to.
“Sweetheart, the video isn’t real.”
Her chin trembled.
“It looks like you.”
“I know.”
“It sounds like you.”
“I know.”
“You said you don’t want me.”
“No.”
Her eyes filled.
“You said it.”
“Someone made the video.”
She stared at me.
“You can do that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I swallowed.
“Because some adults are trying to trick people.”
“Dad?”
I could not lie.
“Yes.”
Her face crumpled.
I moved closer.
This time she let me.
I wrapped my arms around her.
“I will never leave you because I don’t want you.”
She cried into my shirt.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“What if you have to go somewhere?”
“Then I tell you the truth.”
“What if you’re mad?”
“I still love you.”
“What if I’m bad?”
“You are not bad.”
“What if I yell?”
“I still love you.”
“What if I say I hate you?”
“I still love you.”
She squeezed me tighter.
“Even forever?”
“Especially forever.”
Dad stood in the doorway.
His eyes were wet.
He quietly left.
I stayed on the floor with Lily until she stopped shaking.
Then she asked.
“Why does Dad want to trick me?”
No mother should have to answer that.
I chose the truth she could carry.
“Your dad made some very bad choices because he wanted money and control.”
“More than us?”
My throat closed.
“I don’t know what is in his heart.”
She looked at me.
“But I know what he did was wrong.”
Lily stared at the carpet.
“Grandma helped?”
I remembered Diane’s voice on the recording.
“Yes.”
Lily nodded.
“I knew she didn’t like you.”
I felt a chill.
“What do you mean?”
“She says things.”
“What things?”
“When?”
“When you’re not there.”
I tried to keep my voice calm.
“What does she say?”
“That you’re selfish.”
I closed my eyes.
“That you make Dad angry.”
My stomach twisted.
“That Grandpa Carter hates us.”
Dad heard from the hallway.
His face changed.
Lily continued.
“She said one day Dad would find a better mommy.”
I could barely breathe.
“How long has she said things like that?”
Lily shrugged.
“A long time.”
I pressed my forehead against hers.
“I’m sorry.”
“Did I do something?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because Grandma was wrong.”
A knock sounded.
Dad entered.
“Emily.”
I looked up.
He held his phone.
“The police arrested Diane.”
Lily heard.
Her eyes widened.
“Grandma?”
Dad crouched.
“They need to ask her questions about Grandpa Robert getting hurt.”
Lily looked frightened.
“Is she going to jail?”
“We don’t know.”
I took Dad into the hallway.
“What charges?”
“Aggravated assault initially.”
“And Ryan?”
“Still out on bond.”
I felt anger surge.
“The audio.”
“Federal investigators have it.”
“The fake video?”
“Also.”
“Why is he still free?”
“Legal process.”
I hated those words.
Dad continued.
“They’re moving quickly.”
“Not quickly enough.”
“No.”
His phone rang.
He answered.
Then looked at me.
“Ryan’s attorney wants to negotiate.”
I laughed.
“Negotiate what?”
“Divorce.”
“He can talk to my attorney.”
“He specifically requested a settlement conference today.”
“No.”
Dad nodded.
“That was my answer too.”
I looked toward Lily.
Then back at Dad.
“What does he want?”
“Confidentiality.”
“Of course.”
“Release of civil claims.”
“Of course.”
“And your signature relinquishing any challenge to the Collins transaction.”
There it was.
Even now.
The company.
The land.
The money.
Always underneath everything.
“What does he offer?”
Dad hesitated.
“Full custody.”
My blood went cold.
“What?”
“He will voluntarily give you sole custody.”
I stared at him.
“As payment?”
“In exchange for signatures.”
The cruelty was so complete I almost could not process it.
My husband was offering me my own daughter in exchange for money.
Dad looked furious.
“Your attorney already rejected it.”
“Good.”
“There was something else.”
“What?”
“Ryan claims he has evidence that could send Robert to prison.”
I sighed.
“Robert already admitted wrongdoing.”
“Not this.”
“What?”
Dad showed me the settlement email.
One sentence stood out.
MRS. COLLINS SHOULD CONSIDER WHETHER SHE WANTS HER DAUGHTER TO GROW UP KNOWING HER GRANDFATHER CAUSED THE DEATH OF A CHILD.
I stared at it.
“What child?”
Dad shook his head.
“We don’t know.”
I thought of the defective component lawsuit.
“Company accident?”
“Maybe.”
Mark arrived soon after.
When he read the email, his face changed.
“I know.”
Dad looked at him.
“What?”
Mark sat down slowly.
“Six years ago, there was an accident at the plant.”
“What happened?”
“A pressure valve failed.”
“And?”
“A worker’s son was visiting.”
My stomach tightened.
“How old?”
“Seven.”
I closed my eyes.
“What happened?”
“He died.”
The room went quiet.
“Why wasn’t this public?”
“It was.”
“I would remember.”
“The company name wasn’t prominent.”
“Why?”
“Settlement.”
Dad frowned.
“Robert caused it?”
Mark shook his head.
“The component failure traced back to a supplier.”
“Then what is Ryan talking about?”
Mark looked sick.
“Dad knew the component batch was defective.”
Dad stared.
“What?”
“He delayed the recall.”
My stomach turned.
“Why?”
“It would have shut down production.”
“And a child died.”
“Yes.”
I sat down.
“Ryan knew.”
“Yes.”
“He covered it up?”
“Afterward.”
Dad looked grim.
“That creates criminal exposure.”
“Potentially.”
“So Ryan has controlled Robert with this for years.”
“Yes.”
I finally understood Robert’s endless compliance.
His fear.
His silence.
His willingness to sign.
Guilt was Ryan’s favorite currency.
He had used my love for Lily.
Robert’s guilt.
Diane’s greed.
Mark’s tax problems.
Dad’s respect for my supposed wishes.
Everyone had a pressure point.
Ryan simply learned where to push.
“What is Mark’s tax fraud?”
I asked.
Mark looked uncomfortable.
“Unreported income.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“Did Ryan create it?”
“No.”
“So that part is yours.”
“Yes.”
“Then stop letting him own you with it.”
Mark looked at me.
“What do you mean?”
“Tell the truth.”
“I could go to prison.”
“Yes.”
He flinched.
I did not soften.
“You helped move millions.”
“I know.”
“You hid things.”
“I know.”
“You ran.”
“I know.”
“You don’t get clean hands because Ryan’s dirtier.”
Mark stared at me for a long time.
Then he nodded.
“You’re right.”
Dad looked surprised.
Mark took out his phone.
He called a criminal attorney.
“I want to cooperate.”
It was the first genuinely brave thing I had seen a Collins man do.
An hour later, Ryan sent me another message.
No threats.
No negotiation.
Just a photograph.
Our wedding day.
We were smiling beneath white roses.
Under it he wrote.
WE WERE HAPPY ONCE.
I stared at the picture.
Maybe we had been.
Or maybe I had been happy.
There was a difference.
I typed nothing.
Another message came.
MEET ME FOR TEN MINUTES.
I blocked the number.
Thirty seconds later, another unknown number texted.
PLEASE.
Then another.
I LOVE YOU.
I blocked that one too.
Then my attorney called.
“Emily.”
“Yes?”
“Ryan has disappeared.”
My stomach dropped.
“What do you mean?”
“His bond monitor stopped transmitting.”
“When?”
“Six minutes ago.”
Dad was already reaching for his phone.
The attorney continued.
“His vehicle was found outside Pike’s office.”
“Where is Pike?”
“No one knows.”
I looked toward Lily’s room.
Then my phone buzzed again.
A video.
This one was real.
Ryan stood in an unfamiliar room.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Emily.”
His voice was calm.
“I am going to give you one chance.”
My stomach tightened.
Behind him was a window.
Through it I could see industrial buildings.
Ryan continued.
“You can destroy me.”
A pause.
“Or you can learn what your father did before you were born.”
Dad froze.
Ryan smiled.
“Ask Peter why your mother almost left him.”
My father went pale.
The video ended.
I stared at Dad.
“What is he talking about?”
May you like
Dad looked away.
For the first time in everything that had happened, I saw shame on his face.
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