The governor’s emergency detention order arrived just as I was stepping into my wedding dress, waiting for Connor Winthrop to pick me up.
Within minutes, my wedding had become a raid.
SWAT officers took every woman in the Worthington family into custody.
They told us my fiancé had identified my father and three brothers as conspirators in an assassination attempt on the governor, and that the prosecutor would seek the death penalty.
The rest of us were to be sent to a maximum-security prison as accomplices.
After my grandmother read the document, stamped with the governor’s seal, her hands began to shake uncontrollably. My mother tore off my veil, handing pieces of it to my sisters-in-law and the children to cover their mouths and noses.
“Stay together,” she whispered.
“Don’t let anyone take you off alone.”
That night, fire tore through the abandoned detention facility.
My grandmother collapsed beside a concrete pillar.
My mother died beneath a ventilation duct.
My sisters-in-law shielded the children with their bodies.
As I drew my last, smoke-choked breath, I heard two guards talking outside the door.
“Connor and the Worthington men really do spoil that girl rotten.”
“Blair was afraid Connor still wanted to marry this adopted one, afraid the family loved Willa more after raising her for twenty-six years. She cried and demanded they prove their loyalty, so they forged the governor’s order and threw all the women in here.”
The other guard laughed.
“Connor said as long as Willa signs the cancellation papers, they’ll let everyone out at dawn. The men are all still back at the Worthington house, drinking and trying to figure out how to make Blair happy.”
So there had been no attack on the governor.
My father and brothers had never been arrested.
Connor had never betrayed his own father.
They were all safe at home.
This was just a performance, all of it staged for Blair.
No one told us. The detention building had been shut down for years.
The fire alarms and sprinkler system were dead.
And now, not a single woman inside would ever walk out.
Their Favoritism Resulted In A Cruel Outcome Chapter 18 He kept remembering the scene before the wedding. My grandmother was sitting in the drawing room, waiting to watch me come downstairs in my dress. My mother brought him a bowl of soup and reminded him not to drink too much bourbon before the ceremony. My
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Their Favoritism Resulted In A Cruel Outcome Chapter 17 Connor, too, was convicted of felony murder. The prosecution sought the death penalty for the principal defendants. After the jury saw Molly’s photograph and Hannah’s note, they did not choose life imprisonment. The day the sentence was announced, my father closed his eyes. “This time, it’s
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Their Favoritism Resulted In A Cruel Outcome Chapter 16 On the tenth day, the state attorney general announced the first round of charges: falsifying government documents, impersonating law enforcement, kidnapping, and obstructing rescue efforts. Because multiple victims had died in the fire, the prosecution also brought multiple felony murder charges. Daniel Winthrop did not plead
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Their Favoritism Resulted In A Cruel Outcome Chapter 15 When she was alive, the Worthington name had mattered more to her than almost anything. Now, when she looked at my father and brothers, there was only stillness in her eyes. My mother, though, didn’t leave right away. She stood in front of my father and
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Their Favoritism Resulted In A Cruel Outcome Chapter 14 On the seventh day of the wake, I finally saw my grandmother. She stood outside the temporary memorial hall, the wound gone from her forehead. Her white hair was neatly combed, and she wore her favorite dark blue coat. My mother stood beside her. My sisters-in-law
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Their Favoritism Resulted In A Cruel Outcome Chapter 13 “And you’re no better.” “One of you runs a family foundation, and all three of you had the best education money can buy. Every one of you knew this was unlawful detention.” “And you still sent your mothers, your wives, and your daughters into that place.”
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Their Favoritism Resulted In A Cruel Outcome Chapter 12 They had discussed sending me out of state, claiming I needed long-term treatment, or having Connor publicly date Blair for a while. They were worried I wouldn’t cooperate. In the end, Connor suggested forging an emergency detention order from the governor’s office. His plan was to
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Their Favoritism Resulted In A Cruel Outcome Chapter 11 Connor stared at those words for a long time. In the end, he didn’t change the dress. He smoothed the skirt back into place and put the unfinished photo album into my hands. “I’m going out for a while.” “Willa, wait for me to come back.”
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Their Favoritism Resulted In A Cruel Outcome Chapter 10 By the time memorial lights were hung at the Worthington house, the state government had already been informed. Forging the governor’s signature, impersonating state police, and reopening a detention center was not a simple family dispute. Governor Daniel Winthrop signed three public orders in succession. The
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Their Favoritism Resulted In A Cruel Outcome Chapter 09 Henry’s voice shook so badly the words were nearly impossible to make out. “I promised Molly that after the wedding, I’d take her to the beach to fly a kite.” “She’s dead.” “She’ll never call me Dad again.” Blair turned to my father, tears streaming down
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