Chapter 8
Jason was waiting at my attorney’s office when Noah and I arrived.
I walked straight toward him.
“Why was there blood on your hands?”
His face changed.
That was enough.
Noah swore under his breath.
Jason stood.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Mark came to the bank.”
Jason’s face hardened.
“He followed you?”
“Our location sharing was still on.”
I shut it off.
Jason looked at Noah.
“Are you okay?”
“Answer Mom.”
Jason nodded slowly.
“Emily was bleeding.”
Emily, sitting near the conference table, frowned.
“What?”
Jason looked at her.
“After the crash, Mark got out first.”
He swallowed.
“I got out a few seconds later.”
“So the blood was mine?” Emily asked.
“Some of it.”
My chest tightened.
“Some?”
Jason looked sick.
I felt another truth coming.
“Mark hit me.”
Noah stared.
“What?”
Jason touched his jaw unconsciously.
“He was panicking. He kept saying I ruined everything.”
“But he was driving.”
“I know.”
“He hit you because he crashed?”
“Yes.”
I almost laughed at the insanity.
“Then what?”
“I hit him back.”
Emily closed her eyes.
Jason continued.
“We fought.”
“Beside Emily?”
“Yes.”
His shame was obvious.
“She was injured in the road and you two were fighting?”
“Yes.”
“That is disgusting.”
“I know.”
Noah stood near the wall, arms crossed.
Jason looked at him.
“I’m not proud of any part of that night.”
“What happened to the blood?”
Jason continued.
“Mark’s nose was bleeding. My knuckles were cut. Emily was bleeding.”
“So Mark’s comment wasn’t proof of something worse.”
“No.”
I wanted to believe that.
Then Rachel, my attorney, entered.
She wasn’t alone.
A tall man in a gray suit followed.
“This is David Chen,” she said. “He’s a criminal defense attorney.”
Jason shook his hand.
David sat.
Rachel closed the door.
“We need to separate the issues,” she said. “There’s the divorce. Financial fraud. Potential forgery. Possible theft from Emily. And the old crash.”
She looked around.
“Do not mix facts because they’re emotionally connected.”
That advice helped.
For the first time in two days, someone was organizing the disaster.
David focused on Jason.
“If you falsely confessed to driving, there may be legal exposure.”
Jason nodded.
“I understand.”
“But there may also be a path to correct the record.”
Emily leaned forward.
“What about Mark?”
“That depends on evidence.”
“I’m evidence.”
“You are an important witness, but you said you don’t remember the crash itself.”
Her face fell.
“No.”
David turned to Jason.
“Any physical evidence?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Witnesses?”
“There was one.”
Everyone froze.
Rachel asked, “Who?”
Jason looked toward the table.
“A man from the bar.”
“What man?”
“His name was Luis.”
“Last name?”
“Morales, I think.”
“Did police interview him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“He left before they arrived.”
“How do you know?”
“He saw us get into the truck.”
My pulse quickened.
“Could he identify Mark as the driver?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he now?”
Jason shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
David wrote the name down.
“Anything else?”
Jason hesitated.
“Yes.”
Of course.
There was always something else.
“Mark had my keys.”
“That proves he could have driven.”
“He also called someone from my phone before the crash.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why does it matter?”
“Because I was too drunk to remember my passcode. Mark unlocked my phone with my thumb.”
Noah frowned.
“That still doesn’t prove who drove.”
“No.”
David looked at Jason.
“Why have you kept this quiet for nine years?”
Jason’s eyes moved toward Emily.
“Because Mark said if I changed my story, Emily would lose the settlement.”
Emily frowned.
“What?”
“He said insurance would accuse us of fraud and take the money back.”
Rachel looked at her documents.
“That may not have been true.”
“I know that now.”
Jason continued.
“Then later, when I tried to contact Sarah, Mark threatened to report me for perjury.”
“So he used your false statement against you.”
“Yes.”
David leaned back.
“That’s important.”
For the next two hours, we reviewed everything.
At three, Rachel told Noah he had heard enough legal discussion for one day.
He objected.
I agreed with her.
Jason offered to take him for food.
I looked at Noah.
“Your choice.”
Noah nodded.
“Okay.”
Jason looked surprised.
So was I.
They left together.
I resisted the urge to give twelve instructions.
Progress.
Emily and I remained with the attorneys.
Rachel spread Mark’s financial records across the table.
The home equity loan bothered her.
The forged family court papers bothered her more.
“This may go beyond family court,” she said.
“What should I do tonight?”
“Do you have somewhere else to stay?”
“Yes.”
That wasn’t true.
Then I realized I did.
My friend Carla had offered repeatedly.
I had been too embarrassed to tell her what was happening.
“I’ll stay with a friend.”
“Good.”
“What about the house?”
“We can deal with possession through temporary orders.”
I nodded.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A message.
I know Noah is with Jason.
My stomach dropped.
Another came.
You are making a mistake.
I showed Rachel.
“Screenshot everything.”
I did.
She asked, “Does Mark own firearms?”
“No.”
Then I remembered.
His father’s old hunting rifle.
“Maybe.”
Rachel’s expression sharpened.
“Where?”
“Garage cabinet.”
“Does he have access?”
“Yes.”
Emily whispered, “Mark hates guns.”
“Are you sure?”
“He kept Dad’s rifle because it belonged to him, but he never uses it.”
Rachel looked at me.
“Do not go home alone.”
I agreed.
By five, I was driving to Carla’s house with Emily.
Noah was still with Jason.
They had gone to a burger place.
Then, unexpectedly, to the cemetery.
Jason wanted to show Noah his grandfather’s grave.
I was not ready to process that.
Carla hugged me before I finished the first sentence.
“What happened?”
“Everything.”
She looked at Emily.
“This is Mark’s sister.”
Carla’s eyebrows rose.
Emily gave a tired smile.
“It’s complicated.”
“That seems to be today’s theme.”
For the next hour, I told Carla enough to understand.
She didn’t interrupt.
When I finished, she said, “You’re staying here.”
“Yes.”
“No argument.”
“Okay.”
“And Noah?”
“With me.”
“Obviously.”
Emily decided to stay with her mother.
I was surprised to learn their mother was alive.
Mark had told me she moved permanently to Arizona after selling the house.
“She came back two years ago,” Emily said.
“Mark said she didn’t want contact with us.”
Emily stared.
“He told me you didn’t want contact with her.”
Another lie.
We both started laughing.
Not because anything was funny.
Because the alternative was screaming.
At seven, Jason brought Noah to Carla’s.
Noah looked exhausted.
But calmer.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
He held up a small box.
“Grandpa left me something.”
Inside was an old pocket watch.
Engraved with the initials N.J.M.
Noah Jason Miller.
“He had my initials put on it?”
Jason nodded.
“Five years ago.”
Noah looked at me.
“He really thought about me.”
“Yes.”
Jason stayed near the door.
“I’ll go.”
Noah frowned.
“You don’t have to.”
Jason looked at me.
I appreciated the question in his eyes.
“You can stay for dinner,” I said.
Carla whispered, “Well, this will be normal.”
I almost smiled.
We ordered pizza.
For the first twenty minutes, conversation was awkward.
Then Noah asked Jason what his first car was.
That became a story about an ancient Ford that lost its muffler on the highway.
Noah laughed.
A real laugh.
I watched Jason.
He didn’t try too hard.
He didn’t force affection.
He answered questions.
He admitted embarrassing things.
For a brief moment, the nightmare loosened its grip.
Then the doorbell rang.
Carla looked toward the door.
“Expecting anyone?”
“No.”
We all went still.
Jason stood.
I shook my head.
“Stay.”
Carla checked the camera on her phone.
Her face changed.
“It’s Mark.”
Noah stopped breathing.
My pulse exploded.
Another message appeared on my phone.
Please open the door.
I didn’t.
The bell rang again.
Then Mark knocked.
“Sarah.”
His voice carried through the door.
“I know you’re in there.”
Carla whispered, “I’m calling the police.”
I nodded.
Mark continued.
“I just want to talk.”
Noah moved beside me.
Jason stayed across the room.
Smart.
Mark knocked harder.
“Sarah!”
Carla called emergency services.
I stepped toward the door but remained several feet away.
“You need to leave.”
Silence.
Then Mark said, “Jason is in there.”
I didn’t answer.
His voice changed.
“You let him stay with you?”
“No one is staying with me.”
“You think I’m stupid?”
“Leave, Mark.”
“This is my family!”
“No. This is Carla’s house.”
He hit the door with his palm.
Noah flinched.
Jason took one step forward.
I held up my hand.
He stopped.
Good.
“Police are coming,” I said.
Mark went quiet.
Then his voice softened.
“Sarah, I’m sorry.”
My eyes filled despite everything.
“I know I messed up.”
I said nothing.
“I was scared.”
Still nothing.
“I thought if Jason came back, I’d lose Noah.”
Noah closed his eyes.
“And then I started thinking I’d lose you too.”
I swallowed.
Mark continued.
“I did terrible things because I couldn’t handle losing my family.”
I spoke through the door.
“You’re losing us because of the terrible things.”
He breathed shakily.
“I know.”
For one second, he sounded like the man I married.
Then he said, “But Jason doesn’t get to have you.”
Cold flooded me.
There it was.
Ownership.
Again.
“I am not something anybody gets to have.”
“You know what I mean.”
“No.”
“I gave you eight years.”
“I gave you eight years too.”
“He destroyed my sister.”
“And you destroyed the truth.”
Silence.
Then a sound.
Metal.
Jason’s eyes narrowed.
“What was that?”
Carla looked at the camera.
Her face drained.
“He’s holding something.”
My heart stopped.
“The rifle?”
She zoomed in.
“No.”
She exhaled.
“Crowbar.”
A second later, Mark smashed the porch light.
Noah jumped.
Carla shouted into the phone, “He has a crowbar now!”
Jason moved toward the hallway.
I grabbed his arm.
“Do not go outside.”
“He could break in.”
“The police are coming.”
Mark hit the door.
Once.
Twice.
The wood shook.
Noah backed away.
I pulled him behind me.
“Mark!” I screamed. “Stop!”
He hit it again.
“Open the door!”
Carla grabbed a fireplace poker.
Jason moved beside her.
I looked at my son.
His face was white.
This was the man who once taught him to ride a bike.
The man who bandaged his knees.
The man who now stood on the other side of a door with a crowbar.
Sirens sounded in the distance.
Mark stopped.
For two seconds, there was silence.
Then he ran.
Police cars arrived less than a minute later.
Officers searched the neighborhood.
They found Mark’s car two blocks away.
Empty.
The crowbar lay in the grass.
Mark was gone.
At ten thirty, an officer returned.
“We haven’t located him yet.”
I hugged Noah tighter.
“Do you think he’ll come back?”
“We’re increasing patrols.”
That wasn’t an answer.
Then the officer asked me something that made my blood go cold.
“Ma’am, does your husband have another vehicle?”
“No.”
“Any property nearby?”
“No.”
Emily, who had returned after hearing what happened, suddenly looked up.
“Yes.”
We all turned.
She whispered, “Our mother’s old cabin.”
My stomach tightened.
“Where?”
“About forty miles north.”
The officer wrote it down.
Emily looked at me.
“There’s something stored there.”
“What?”
May you like
She swallowed.
“Dad’s rifle.”
