Chapter 6 - My Mother Finally Told the Truth
Malcolm Denton escaped again.
But this time he left blood behind.
An agent’s return fire had struck him.
Hospitals across Virginia received alerts.
So did urgent-care centers.
Pharmacies.
Transportation hubs.
Denton had spent years surviving through connections.
Now those connections were becoming liabilities.
The recording from the cabin was authenticated.
My father’s remains were exhumed.
I stood beside Sophia when the court approved it.
I felt sick.
“He deserves the truth,” she said.
“I know.”
“You don’t have to watch.”
“I know.”
Forensic testing found traces of digoxin in preserved tissue.
My father had never been prescribed digoxin.
In toxic quantities, it could trigger fatal cardiac arrhythmia.
His death had looked like a heart attack because someone had wanted it to.
Eleanor was charged with murder.
I watched the announcement on television.
My mother.
Murder.
The words should have felt impossible.
Instead, they felt like the final piece of a picture I had spent my life refusing to see.
Eleanor requested to speak with me again.
This time I agreed.
Not alone.
Naomi sat beside me.
Detective Harris observed behind the glass.
My mother entered wearing jail clothing.
No silk robe.
No lipstick.
No control.
Yet when she saw me, she smiled.
“My boy.”
I felt nothing.
That frightened me.
“Why?”
She sat.
“Lucas—”
“Why did Dad die?”
Her smile disappeared.
“Malcolm panicked.”
“So Denton killed him?”
“He gave him something to calm him.”
“Digoxin doesn’t calm people.”
“He said it would make Thomas weak.”
“And you believed him?”
“I was angry.”
“You waited three hours to call an ambulance.”
Her eyes moved.
There.
Guilt.
“You could have saved him.”
“He was already gone.”
“You didn’t know that.”
Silence.
I leaned forward.
“Why?”
“Your father was going to destroy everything.”
“What everything?”
“The family.”
“No. The money.”
Her expression hardened.
“You have no idea what I sacrificed.”
“For what?”
“For you.”
I laughed.
She hated that.
“You murdered Dad for me?”
“I built your life.”
“No.”
“You went to good schools because of me.”
“Dad paid for them.”
“I managed everything.”
“You stole from our trust.”
“It was family money.”
“It was not yours.”
Her hand struck the table.
“It should have been!”
There she was.
Eleanor.
The woman beneath the mother.
Her eyes flashed.
“My father gave everything to Thomas because he was a man. Then Thomas put it in trust for you and Audrey. Everyone expected me to smile while men decided when I could touch money I helped build.”
“So you stole it.”
“I used what belonged to this family.”
“You mean you.”
Her breathing sharpened.
I continued.
“And when Dad tried to stop you, Denton poisoned him.”
“It wasn’t supposed to kill him.”
“But when he collapsed, you waited.”
She looked away.
“Why?”
“Because Malcolm said if we called immediately, the doctors might detect it.”
The room became silent.
There it was.
My father had been alive.
Potentially saveable.
And my mother had waited because saving him might expose her.
“You chose yourself.”
She looked at me.
“I chose you and Audrey.”
“No.”
My voice remained calm.
“You need to stop using us as an excuse.”
Her face changed.
“You sound like Sophia.”
“Good.”
“She has poisoned you against me.”
“No.”
“She arrived and suddenly you stopped being my son.”
“I became a husband.”
“You were my son first.”
“And Leo is my son.”
Eleanor became quiet.
I leaned forward.
“You did to Leo what you did to Dad.”
Her eyes widened.
“No.”
“You denied medical care because medical care would take control away from you.”
“That baby was never in danger.”
“He was hospitalized.”
“Because Sophia made him weak.”
I stared at her.
Even now.
Even facing murder charges.
No remorse.
I stood.
“We’re done.”
“Lucas.”
I turned.
Her expression changed.
Fear appeared.
Real fear.
“Malcolm will kill me.”
I stopped.
“What?”
“He has copies.”
“Of what?”
“Everything.”
“What does he want?”
“The trust.”
“He can’t have it.”
“He doesn’t care about the money anymore.”
“What does he care about?”
“Surviving.”
I sat again.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why is he a threat to you?”
“Because I can identify everyone who helped him.”
“Who?”
She smiled faintly.
Control returning.
“Get me a deal.”
“No.”
“Lucas.”
“You tell investigators.”
“I tell you.”
“No.”
She stared at me.
“You would let your own mother die?”
I thought about my father.
Sophia.
Leo.
Every time Eleanor used blood as a weapon.
“I’ll let the law protect you.”
Her face twisted.
“You ungrateful—”
Naomi stood.
“We’re leaving.”
My mother shouted after me.
“You think Sophia will stay?”
I stopped at the door.
“She’ll take your money and your son!”
I turned.
Eleanor smiled.
“You’ll see.”
Years earlier, that sentence might have planted doubt.
Now it only made me sad.
“You still don’t understand.”
“What?”
“Sophia already had the chance to leave.”
My mother’s smile faded.
“She stayed because she loves me.”
I walked out.
That night, I told Sophia everything.
She listened while rocking Leo.
When I finished, she said, “I want to move.”
“From the rental?”
“From Virginia.”
I stared at her.
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay.”
She looked surprised.
“That’s it?”
“What?”
“No argument?”
“Why would I argue?”
“Your career.”
“I can transfer.”
“Your family.”
I laughed without humor.
“What family?”
She looked down.
“I don’t want Leo growing up where every street reminds me of them.”
I sat beside her.
“Then we leave.”
“You mean that?”
“Yes.”
She studied my face.
“You’re not going to tell me we should wait?”
“No.”
“Or that Eleanor shouldn’t control where we live?”
“No.”
“Why?”
I looked at our son.
“Because leaving isn’t letting her win.”
Sophia’s eyes filled.
“It’s choosing us.”
I nodded.
Then my phone rang.
Harris.
“We have Denton.”
I stood.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“A motel outside Fredericksburg.”
Relief came.
Then Harris continued.
“But Lucas, he wasn’t alone.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who was with him?”
“Audrey.”
I stared at the wall.
“What?”
“Your sister was released on bond this afternoon.”
I knew that.
Her attorney had convinced a judge she was not a flight risk.
Apparently the judge was wrong.
“Why would she go to Denton?”
“We’re trying to determine that.”
Then Harris said, “She claims Denton kidnapped her.”
“Do you believe her?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because motel surveillance shows Audrey driving.”
I closed my eyes.
May you like
My sister had made her choice.
And this time, nobody was going to call it family loyalty.
