Chapter 9 - The Choice at the Train Station
Cassandra's warning sent investigators racing to verify Victor's movements. His car had been seen near the interstate, and his assistant had purchased a train ticket under another name. Detectives asked everyone connected to the case to remain reachable and avoid confronting him.
I wanted to drive straight to Dad's house. Instead I called him and explained what the police had advised. He promised to stay with my aunt until they gave us the all-clear. Hearing his steady voice helped me keep my own steady.
Cassandra agreed to meet detectives at the central station. She had spent days trying to protect her brother, but now she feared what he might do. Lorenzo did not accompany her. He sent Naomi's number and told her to follow the investigators' instructions.
By afternoon, news spread that Victor had been detained at the station for questioning on a warrant connected to financial records. Daniel Rusk was located separately. The story was far from over, and the police refused to speculate publicly about the threats against me.
That evening Cassandra requested a conversation with Evelyn. This time Evelyn chose the setting: the small sunroom, in daylight, with me nearby and no audience to impress.
Cassandra entered without jewelry. She looked tired. “I wanted to apologize again,” she said. “Not because I think you'll forgive me.”
Evelyn waited.
“I treated your illness like an inconvenience. I treated Clara like she wasn't a person. And I used her job to make you afraid.”
“Why?” Evelyn asked.
Cassandra's eyes filled. “Because I thought being important meant making everyone else feel smaller.”
Evelyn nodded slowly. “That's an answer. It isn't an excuse.”
“I know.”
“I hope you learn to be different,” Evelyn said. “But you won't be coming back into this home.”
Cassandra accepted that. Before leaving, she turned to me. “I'm sorry I threatened your livelihood.”
I felt the familiar pressure to be gracious, to say it was all right so nobody would feel uncomfortable. But it hadn't been all right.
“Thank you for saying it clearly,” I answered. “I need time.”
She nodded and left.
Later Lorenzo asked whether I thought he should have seen Cassandra's cruelty sooner. I said I couldn't answer for his past, only for what he did next. He took that seriously.
A week later, the prosecutor's office announced charges related to the financial scheme and the intimidation investigation. Some counts were still under review. Victor denied wrongdoing through his attorney. The courts would decide what could be proved.
May you like
I expected the mansion to celebrate. Instead Lorenzo sat with his mother over tea and said, “I don't want winning to become another kind of cruelty.”
Evelyn lifted her blue-handled spoon. “Then make something good out of the peace, when it comes.”
