I Signed Away Eight Million To Leave Him Chapter 28
She held my hand and told me not to make a sound.
At dawn, my father was gone, along with the last of the cash in the house.
“Are you certain the man on television is him?” the officer asked.
“Yes.”
“After all this time, are you still willing to testify in court?”
I looked at the blank signature line at the bottom of the statement.
When I was little, everyone told me to move on.
So my mother’s death stayed locked away inside that damp staff cottage, while my father got to keep on living somewhere else.
I picked up the pen.
“I am.”
When I came out after signing, Beatrice was standing outside another interview room.
She looked much older. The black coat she wore made her face seem almost colorless.
The police were re-interviewing every witness they could still find from that time, and her name was on the list.
Our eyes met across the hallway.
She didn’t come over. She just gave me a small nod, then followed an officer inside.
We had said we would not walk the same road anymore.
She remembered.
By evening, my father had been brought in for questioning.
He wasn’t in handcuffs when he came out of the room. When he saw me, he actually stopped.
“Sloane says you’re doing well.”
His eyes raked over me, settling on my wedding ring.
“Bought a house, too. I bet the Vale family’s eight million is still sitting somewhere. Give me half, and I can disappear again.”
Eli rose from his chair.
I lifted a hand to stop him.
“When you took my mother’s bus money back then, was that what you were thinking, too?”
My father’s expression changed.
“Don’t you throw that woman in my face.”
He lowered his voice, his words vicious. “If the cops could have arrested me, they would’ve done it a long time ago.”
“The fact that they couldn’t find you doesn’t mean you didn’t do it.”
I stepped aside, making sure the hallway camera had a clear view of his face.
“This time, you don’t have to run.”