Chapter 5: My Mother's Price
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“My mother wants immunity?””
Officer Daniels nodded.
“She has requested a meeting with the district attorney.””
“For what? Leaving three children alone?””
“She's claiming she has information about your father's death.””
I looked toward Toby.
He was asleep beside Liam's hospital crib.
His small hand rested against the blanket.
I didn't want him hearing another word about our mother.
“Can I speak to her?””
Daniels hesitated.
“Not without an officer present.””
“Fine.””
Twenty minutes later, I was sitting in a police interview room.
My mother entered wearing an expensive cream-colored coat and diamond earrings.
Her hair was perfectly styled.
She looked nothing like a woman whose babies had nearly frozen to death.
She didn't hug me.
She didn't ask about Toby.
She placed her handbag on the table and said, “Where's Richard?””
I stared at her.
“That's your first question?””
“Emily, don't start.””
“Your children are in the hospital.””
“I know.””
“You left a ten-year-old boy alone with two babies.””
“He was perfectly capable of watching them.””
“He was barefoot in a freezing house!””
My mother rolled her eyes.
“Children exaggerate.””
I felt something inside me break.
“Toby gave the twins his socks because he thought they were dying.””
For the first time, she looked uncomfortable.
But only briefly.
“Where is the photograph?””
I stared at her.
“What photograph?””
“The one from your father's cabinet.””
I leaned forward.
“Why do you want it?””
She looked toward the observation window.
“Because if the police see it, Richard and I are finished.””
The room became silent.
I felt my pulse pounding.
“You knew.””
My mother closed her eyes.
“Emily, you don't understand.””
“Then explain it.””
She leaned closer.
“Your father was going to destroy everything. He was going to send Richard to prison, and he wanted to take all the money with him.””
“Dad discovered financial fraud?””
“He didn't understand the arrangement.””
“What arrangement?””
My mother hesitated.
Then she said something that made me sick.
“Richard and I were going to start over. Your father wouldn't let us.””
I stared at her.
“You were seeing Richard while Dad was alive?””
She didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
“Were you having an affair?””
“Your father was difficult. He was obsessed with money and work. Richard understood me.””
I shook my head.
“So you betrayed Dad, and then what? You helped Richard kill him?””
My mother's eyes filled with tears.
“Don't say that.””
“Did you know his brakes had been tampered with?””
She looked down.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered, “I didn't know he would actually die.””
I stopped breathing.
Officer Daniels, sitting near the door, immediately straightened.
“What does that mean?”” I asked.
My mother pressed her fingers against her forehead.
“Richard told me he was going to scare Michael. He said he would make him understand that he couldn't threaten us.””
“By cutting his brakes?””
“I didn't know about the brakes!””
“But you knew something was going to happen?””
She started crying.
“I thought Richard would only frighten him.””
I stared at her.
“You let Dad drive a car you knew might have been sabotaged?””
She shook her head.
“I loved your father once.””
I stood.
“No. You loved the life he gave you.””
My mother suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“Emily, listen to me. You have to understand something. Richard has connections.
He can make things disappear. If you cooperate with the police, he'll come after all of us.””
I pulled my hand away.
“He already came after us.””
She lowered her voice.
“The basement wasn't supposed to be like that.””
My blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?””
She looked toward Daniels.
Then back at me.
“Richard told me the furnace would stop working temporarily. He said the pipes would freeze, and the house would become too uncomfortable for anyone to stay there.””
“Why would he do that?””
“He needed time.””
“For what?””
“To find the photograph.””
I stared at her.
The furnace hadn't been shut down because of a malfunction.
It had been deliberately disabled so Richard could search the basement without anyone interfering.
But that still didn't explain the insurance policies.
I leaned forward.
“Why did you insure the twins?””
My mother began crying harder.
“Richard said it was necessary.””
“Necessary for what?””
She looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw genuine fear in her eyes.
“He told me the babies would be taken away if the house was declared unsafe.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“He said social services would remove them, and then we could claim the insurance if something happened during the emergency.””
I felt physically sick.
“You knew they might die?””
“I thought he had everything under control!””
“You thought a ten-year-old could keep two babies alive in a freezing house?””
She started sobbing.
“I didn't think the storm would get that bad.””
I stepped backward.
There was no apology that could repair what she had done.
Officer Daniels stood.
“Mrs. Parker, we're going to need a formal statement.””
My mother wiped her cheeks.
“I'll tell you everything. But I want protection.””
“From whom?”” Daniels asked.
She looked at him.
“Richard.””
Then she reached into her handbag and removed a small envelope.
“I took this from Michael's safe before the police arrived.””
Daniels immediately extended his hand.
“What is it?””
My mother pushed the envelope across the table.
“The photograph.””
I stared at it.
My father's handwriting was visible on the back.
But before Daniels could open it, my mother grabbed his sleeve.
“There's something else you need to know.””
“What?””
She swallowed.
“Michael didn't die in that accident.””
I felt my knees weaken.
“What are you talking about?””
She looked directly at me.
“The man Richard buried six months ago wasn't your father.””
The room went completely silent.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“Michael was alive when Richard left the hospital that night.””
