Chapter 16 - THE TARGET
Seeing my own face on cardboard changed something inside me.
Until then, part of me still wanted to believe incompetence explained the worst of it.
Derek was reckless.
Greedy.
Cruel.
But maybe he had not truly understood what metal could do.
The target destroyed that hope.
My photograph had been printed from social media.
A red circle surrounded my left eye.
Police found seven empty party cannons in the garage.
Some had been modified.
Some had not.
Derek had practiced.
He had measured distance.
He had tested patterns.
The prosecution stopped calling it a prank entirely.
So did Vanessa.
She sat beside me in Harold’s office after learning about the targets.
“I didn’t know.”
I stared ahead.
“I know.”
That surprised her.
“You believe me?”
“I believe you didn’t know everything.”
She began crying.
“That doesn’t make what you did okay.”
“No.”
“I still helped him.”
“Yes.”
We sat quietly.
Then she said, “I was jealous of you before Derek.”
“I know.”
“I thought Mom trusted you more.”
“She did.”
Vanessa looked hurt.
I continued.
“Because you kept proving she couldn’t trust you.”
The truth landed.
I did not soften it.
“But she still loved you.”
Vanessa wiped her face.
“I don’t know how to fix us.”
“You may not.”
She nodded.
For once, she accepted an answer she did not like.
The legal case moved quickly.
Derek faced multiple serious charges tied to the assault, evidence tampering, forgery, and corporate fraud.
Patricia faced conspiracy and fraud charges.
Victor cooperated fully.
Vanessa accepted responsibility for her role and agreed to testify.
Then a prosecutor asked me whether I wanted to provide a victim impact statement later.
I said yes.
Not because I wanted Derek destroyed.
Because I wanted the record to contain one simple fact.
What happened to me was real even when everyone laughed.
That mattered.
Two days before the preliminary hearing, Marissa came to my apartment.
She looked concerned.
“Patricia wants to speak with you.”
“No.”
“I expected that.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because she says she has information your mother hid from you.”
I almost laughed.
Everyone suddenly had secrets from Mom.
“What information?”
Marissa hesitated.
“Patricia says the Bellamy shares were never supposed to be divided equally.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
May you like
“She claims your mother intended to give you controlling interest.”
“And Vanessa knows nothing about it.”
