Chapter 14: The Dead Don’t Die

The silence in the living room was so heavy I could hear the clock ticking.

I stood there, shocked and confused, trying to understand what my mother had just said. My heart was beating fast. My mother’s words hung in the air like a poisonous fog.

I looked at Serena. She didn’t say anything. She just looked at me and my mother, her eyes wide with surprise. She looked as shocked as I was.

"That’s a lie," Serena whispered, her voice shaking. "My father is a good man. He’s a mechanic. He’s never even been to Berklene before."

Lily took a step closer. "Oh, darling. You have no idea. Your father was never just a simple mechanic. He was a means to an end. A pawn in a game far bigger than you could understand."

"Good enough to know exactly which bolt to loosen so that a limousine loses its steering on a sharp mountain turn. Why do you think your family suddenly had enough money to send you and your siblings to school? How do you think your father started his ‘small business'?" I felt my world crumbling right before my eyes.

“I don’t believe you!” I shouted back, clenching my fists. “How could he possibly be involved in something like this? He was an honest man!”

I looked at Louise Bennet. She was shaking her head, her hands covering her mouth.

"My father... Gabriel... wasn’t involved in this right?" Louise stammered. "He loved Edward’s father. They were partners!"

"Partners who were about to go to war over a merger," Lily snapped. "Your father was greedy, Louise. And Serena’s father was desperate. It was a match made in hell.

I turned to Serena, my heart breaking. "Serena, is it true? Did your family get a large sum of money ten years ago?" Serena looked at me, tears rolling down her cheek.

"Ed, I... I was twelve. I remember Dad coming home with a lot of cash. He said he won it on a lucky bet.

He said we were going to be okay. I never thought... I never knew..."

"See, Edward?" Lily smiled, a look of pure victory on her face. "You married the daughter of the man who murdered your father. That’s the 'loyalty' you traded your family's legacy for."

I felt the blood in my veins boiling out of rage, but it wasn't directed at Serena. It was directed at the woman sitting in front of me. Something wasn't right. My mother was too calm. She was enjoying this too much. "If Serena’s father was the driver or the mechanic," I said, my voice cold, "then why is he still alive? Why didn't you go to the police ten years ago?"

A voice came from the doorway, "Because..."

We all turned. Standing there was Simone, the butler, with a cane in his hand. His face was dull, but his eyes looked sharp. He wasn't standing like a servant anymore. He was standing like a man who was in control.

"Because your mother was the one who signed the check, Edward," Simone said.

My mother's glass fell and broke on the floor.

"Simone! Shut up and get out!"

"No," Simone said, walking into the room. He pulled out a small recorder from his vest. "I've been the butler here for thirty years. I've seen everything. I heard everything. I kept these secrets for a day when I could finally see justice for the man I respected—your father, Edward."

He pressed 'play' on the recorder. My mother's voice came from it, cold and mean. "The accident has to look natural, Gabriel. If my husband signs that merger, he'll move the assets to a trust I can't touch. Hire the mechanic. I’ll sign a check he can’t say no to, whatever he wants. Just make sure the car doesn't make it to the city."

Then, a man's voice—Gabriel Bennet's voice. "And the mechanic? What if he talks?"

My mother's voice again: "He won't. I'll keep his family under control. I'll make sure he doesn’t say a word. We'll keep the Blakes in our pocket forever; we have their daughter as collateral damage."

The recording stopped. The room was quiet. I looked at my mother. For the first time, she looked small and trapped.

"What daughter?" Serena asked. But Lily just giggled and ignored the question.

"You," I whispered, feeling angry. "You killed him. Not the Bennets. Not Serena's father. You."

"Edward, listen to me—" my mother started, reaching for me.

"Don't touch me!" I shouted. I turned to Serena. She was looking at Simone, then at me, with a sad look in her eyes.

"My father... he didn't know," Serena said, her voice getting stronger. "He thought he was just fixing a car for a rich client. He didn't know he was being used to kill someone."

"He knew enough to be scared," Simone said. "That's why he took the money and hid his family in Oaktown. He was trying to protect his family, Serena."

Louise Bennet sat down, crying. "My father... he helped her. He helped her kill his best friend."

I looked at my mother, then at the recorder in Simone's hand. I wasn't the lawyer digging for the truth anymore. I was just a son who finally knew the truth.

"Simone, call the police," I said.

"Already done, Edward," Simone replied. "They're at the gates."

My mother looked unbothered, arranging her dress. "You think you've won? Without me, the Vance empire will fall apart. You're nothing without me, Edward."

"I'm a man with a wife who loves me," I said, holding Serena's hand. "And that's more than you'll ever have."

As the police sirens got closer, Serena leaned against me. We had survived, but it was going to take time to heal.

The mood in the room changed. We all understood that this was a complicated and messed up situation. I realized that Louise and I were both victims, and it was a lot to take in.

"Louise," I said softly, still trying to understand everything. "You didn't do anything wrong. You were trapped, just like everyone else."

Then, my phone buzzed with a message from Michael. "Edward! Eleanor just woke up. She said one word before the doctors pushed me out."

I looked at the screen. My heart stopped.

The word was "SISTER.”