Chapter 15
Michael broke when prosecutors charged him in Anna’s death.
Not because he felt guilt.
Because prison for trust fraud was one thing.
Murder was another.
He asked for a deal.
Mara let him talk.
I watched through glass.
My younger brother sat hunched at the table, wrists cuffed, face gray.
“I didn’t know Caleb would really do it,” he said.
The prosecutor asked, “What did you think cutting brake lines would do?”
Michael cried.
Ugly crying.
Selfish crying.
“I owed Sloane four hundred thousand. Evelyn said Anna was going to ruin all of us.”
“All of us?”
“Me. Evelyn. The judge. The accounts.”
“So you opened Daniel’s garage.”
“I let Caleb in.”
“And Anna died.”
He covered his face.
“She wasn’t supposed to drive that morning.”
I nearly walked out.
Mara looked at me.
“Breathe.”
I did.
Barely.
Michael continued.
“She changed plans. Lily had a school event. Anna drove herself.”
My knees weakened.
Anna had died on the way to Lily’s first-grade art show.
I had gone later with flowers and a lie for my daughter.
Mommy wanted you to have these.
I had not known.
Michael gave enough to charge Sloane and Evelyn in Anna’s murder conspiracy.
Evelyn denied everything until Mara showed her Michael’s testimony.
Then she stopped speaking.
That was the first smart thing she had done.
When I told Lily charges had been filed for Mommy, she was quiet.
Then she asked, “Does justice mean Mommy comes back?”
“No.”
“Then why do we need it?”
I sat beside her.
“Because truth matters even when it cannot fix everything.”
She leaned against me.
“And because bad people should stop?”
“Yes.”
She nodded.
“Okay.”
After a while, she whispered, “I still miss her.”
“Me too.”
May you like
We sat under Anna’s portrait until sunset.
Missing her together.
