Chapter 11 - EVELYN’S OFFER
Evelyn requested a private meeting with me.
Detective Collins advised against it.
I agreed only because Lily’s safety depended on understanding what Evelyn still knew.
The meeting took place in a secured interview room.
Evelyn entered wearing a county jail uniform.
Her silver hair was no longer perfectly arranged.
She still carried herself like a woman attending a board meeting.
“You look tired, Daniel,” she said.
“My daughter almost died.”
“She survived.”
“Because Lily was lucky.”
“Because I knew the hospital was close.”
I stared at her.
“You admitted planning it.”
“I admitted nothing.”
“You switched the dessert.”
“I moved a plate.”
“You stole her injector.”
“I removed one device.”
“You knew another was in my pocket.”
“Sloan assured me it was harmless.”
The same excuse Michael used.
Everyone trusted Sloan when responsibility became inconvenient.
“Why did you target Lily?” I asked.
Evelyn leaned back.
“I protected what Anna’s father built.”
“Thomas stole from families.”
“He created a system.”
“He destroyed people.”
“He understood that wealth disappears when weak people manage it.”
“And Anna was weak?”
“Anna was sentimental.”
“She wanted to surrender millions because strangers told convincing stories.”
“They were victims.”
“They were careless.”
Her lack of remorse frightened me.
“Did you know Sloan killed Anna?”
Evelyn’s eyes shifted for half a second.
“I knew he planned to stop her.”
“How?”
“I did not ask.”
“You allowed your daughter to be murdered.”
“I believed he would frighten her.”
“After the first brake failure?”
Evelyn said nothing.
“You knew about that too.”
“She refused to listen.”
“She was your child.”
“She was destroying Lily’s future.”
“No.”
I leaned forward.
“She was saving Lily from you.”
Evelyn’s expression hardened.
“Sloan will not stop.”
“Then tell us where he is.”
“I want an agreement.”
“You are not in a position to negotiate.”
“I know where the remaining trust money is.”
“Police will find it.”
“Not before Sloan takes it.”
“What do you want?”
“Michael receives protection.”
The request surprised me.
“You tried to make him Lily’s guardian because you believed you could control him.”
“He is still my son.”
“He is my brother.”
“And yet you are willing to let him spend his life in prison.”
“He helped poison my daughter.”
“He did not know what was inside the injector.”
“That does not make him innocent.”
Evelyn studied me.
“You sound like Anna.”
“That is the kindest thing you have ever said to me.”
For the first time, pain crossed her face.
She placed a number on the table.
It belonged to a private account in the Cayman Islands.
Nearly one million dollars from Lily’s trust remained there.
Sloan possessed the access code.
The second half of the code was hidden inside Anna’s blue folder.
“That is why he wants it,” Evelyn said.
“Not only because it proves what he did.”
“He needs the money.”
“Where is the folder?”
“Thomas hid it before he died.”
“Where?”
May you like
Evelyn looked directly at me.
“In Anna’s grave.”
