Chapter 50 I'm Done Hiding
Lara's pov
The next morning felt different.
Maybe because for the first time in days, I knew who was behind everything.
Veronica and Natasha.
I got out of bed and went straight to the kitchen to make coffee. I made coffee, a strong one actually.
Damien was already awake, he was sitting at the table with his laptops .
"Anything new?" I asked.
He looked at me. “ The police are bringing the Ward sisters for questioning this morning”.
"What time?"
"In about an hour."
I nodded and poured myself a cup. My hands were stable today. Not shaking like yesterday.
Maybe because I knew we finally had answers. Or maybe I was too tired of everything and too tired to be scared anymore.
Ethan came downstairs , he was already dressed for school.
"Can I go to school today, Mommy?"
I looked at Damien. We'd kept him home yesterday because of everything.
"I think that's okay," Damien said. "Security will take you and stay with you all day."
Ethan's face lit up. "Really?"
"Really."
He hugged me. "Thank you, Mommy!"
At least one of us could have a normal day.
After Ethan left for school with one of the security guards, Damien got a call from the detective.
"We have Veronica and Natasha at the station now. Thought you would want to know."
Damien put it on speaker. "What are they saying?"
"Nothing yet. Both of them said they need their lawyers to be here."
"Can we be there? To watch?"
There was a pause. "You can watch through the glass. But you can't be in the room."
"That's fine. We're coming now."
He hung up and looked at me. "You don't have to come if you don't want to."
"No. I'm coming. I want to see their faces when they realize we have proof."
We got to the police station twenty-five minutes later.
The detective met us at the entrance and took us upstairs to a small room with a one-way mirror.
Through the glass, I could see Veronica sitting at a table.
She looked different from the last time I saw her. She now looked darker. Dark circles under her eyes. Her hair pulled back in a one messy ponytail.
But her face was very hard and angry.
Next to her sat a man in an expensive suit. Her lawyer.
"Where's Natasha?" I asked.
"In the next room. We're questioning them separately."
I watched as two detectives entered Veronica's room.
One stood by the door while the other one sat down across from her.
"Ms. Ward, thank you for coming in today."
Veronica crossed her arms. "I didn't have a choice. You people dragged me out of my hotel room."
"We asked you to come in voluntarily for questioning."
"Same thing."
Her lawyer put a hand on her arm. "My client is here. Let's get on with this."
The detective opened a folder and pulled out papers.
"We found some interesting evidence yesterday. At Jake Jason’s apartment."
Veronica's expression didn't change. "Who?"
"Jake Jason. Your boyfriend's cousin."
"I barely even know the person you are talking about."
The detective slid a paper across the table. "These are text messages between you and Jake. From two weeks ago."
Veronica looked at the paper. Her jaw tightened.
"Those could be fake, that I'm sure of."
"They're from his phone. We have the actual device."
Her lawyer leaned over to read the messages. His face changed.
"We also found ten thousand dollars in cash in Jake's apartment. Do you care to explain where that came from?"
"How would I know? It's his money."
"Except the bills match a withdrawal you made from your offshore account three weeks ago."
Veronica's face went red. "That's private financial information. You can't—"
"We can with a warrant. Which we actually have."
The detective slid another paper across. "This shows you paid Jake Jason six thousand dollars on September 15th. And another four thousand on September 22nd."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"The same days he was hired to install security cameras at Damien Otto's house. And the day after a tracking device was installed on Lara Montgomery's phone."
I felt Damien's hand squeeze mine.
Veronica leaned back in her chair. "This is ridiculous. You're trying to frame me because I'm suing your precious billionaire."
“We're not trying to frame anyone ma'am. We're following the evidence.That's why we brought you here.”
Her lawyer whispered something to her. She shook her head.
"My client has nothing more to say."
The detective sighed and stood up. "Veronica Ward, you're under arrest for conspiracy to commit stalking, harassment, and invasion of privacy."
"What? You can't arrest me! I won't take that"
"We can and we are already doing that."
Two officers came in. One pulled out handcuffs.
Veronica stood up fast, knocking her chair over. "This is insane! I didn't do anything!"
"You have the right to remain silent..."
I watched as they handcuffed her. She was now screaming.
"I want to call my sister! Let me call my sister!! Where's Natasha? Natasha!"
They led her out of the room.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
The detective came into our room.
"Natasha just confessed ma'am."
"What?" Damien stood up.
"She broke about ten minutes into questioning. Started crying. She said Veronica planned everything and forced her to help."
"Did she say the reason why she did that?"
"Revenge. They are blaming Lara for Lucas getting shot. For him being in the hospital. For the family losing everything."
I felt sick. All of this because they couldn't accept that Lucas was a monster.
"What happens now?" I asked.
"They'll be formally charged. Arraignment tomorrow and also will be set."
"They'll just make bail again," I said.
"Maybe. But we'll request higher bail this time. And they'll have conditions. No contact with you, ankle monitors, restricted movement."
It wasn't enough. But it was something.
We left the station and drove home in silence.
I kept thinking about Veronica's face, the anger and the hatred.
Even arrested, even caught, she still thought she was the victim.
"Are you okay?" Damien asked.
"I don't know. I thought I'd feel better once they were arrested. But I just feel... empty."
"It's not over yet. There's still the trial."
"And Lucas. He's still in the hospital and still alive."
Damien reached over and took my hand. "One problem at a time."
That evening, the detective called again.
"Bail hearing was this afternoon."
"Already?"
"Judge wanted to move fast. Bail was set at seven hundred thousand dollars each."
My heart sank. "They'll pay it."
"They did. About an hour ago."
I felt like screaming. How do they get the money? "So they're just free? After everything?"
"They have to wear ankle monitors. They can't leave the county. And they can't contact you or anyone in your family."
"What if they do?"
"Then they go straight to jail. No bail this time around."
I hung up and told Damien.
He punched the wall. Actually punched it. His knuckles started bleeding.
"Damien!"
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. None of this is fine."
He sat down and put his head into his hands. “ I honestly don't know what else to do again. We have several pieces of evidence, they confessed themselves and now they're still walking out free”.
I sat next to him. "Margaret said the trial will put them away for years."
"The trial is months away. What happens until then?"
I didn't have an answer to that.
Later that night, after Ethan was asleep, I stood by the window looking out.
The security guards were still there. Cameras were still recording. Doors were still locked.
But Veronica and Natasha were out there somewhere and free.
Probably planning their next move.
I felt Damien come up behind me.
"We should leave," he said.
"What?"
"Leave the city. Go somewhere they can't find us. At least until the trial."
"Run away?"
"Not run away. Just… be safe."
I thought about it. Part of me wanted to. Wanted to pack up Ethan and disappear.
But another part of me was tired of running.
"No," I said. "I'm done hiding. Done being scared and done letting them use me".
"Lara—"
"They want me afraid. They want me to run. That's the whole point."
I turned to face him. "But I'm not going to give them that satisfaction. Never again. We stay. We fight. And we win."
Damien looked at me for a long moment. Then nodded.
"Okay. We are going to stay."
That night I actually slept.
Not well, but better than the last few days..
Maybe it was knowing Veronica and Natasha were being watched. That they couldn't just show up at our house.
Or maybe it was deciding to stop running.
Either way, I slept.
And when I woke up the next morning, I felt different.
Stronger and ready to fight.
Because this was my life. My family. My home.
And I wasn't letting anyone take that away from me.
Not Lucas. Not his sisters. Not anyone.
I'd survived too much to give up now.