Chapter 18 More Truth
The next morning came too fast although I didn’t sleep much because my mind was full of questions and worries. I kept thinking about the photos, the name Greg Vale, and the gunshot. It was all too much for me to process.
I was sitting on the bed when I heard a soft knock at the door.
“Come in,” I said.
Carson walked in. He looked tired too, like he didn't have a good sleep.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I said quietly. “Still shaken, I guess,”I added.
He nodded and walked closer. “You didn’t sleep?”He asked.
“Not really,” I replied. “You?”
He shook his head. “Same,”He said.
There was silence, then he sat beside me and held my hands.
“We can’t pretend this isn’t happening,” I said.
“I know,” he replied. “I think we need to figure out how to go about this whole issue, so we can know how well to deal with it.” He added.
I looked at him but he didn’t look like the same man I married out of force. He looked different and softer now or maybe more human.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
“We stay close,” he said. “We look deeper. And we don’t let them scare us, I'm sure together in unity we can deal with whatever it is that is coming,”He added.
“Who is ‘them’?” I asked.
He took a breath. “Greg Vale. Maybe Victoria. And maybe more people we don’t know yet.”He said.
I nodded slowly. “Alright. Where do we start?”I asked.
“I already called someone,” he said. “An old friend. He used to work with Greg, but he left years ago. He might talk.”He added.
“Can we trust him?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But it’s a chance,”He said again.
Just then, we heard a sound downstairs, and we both stood up quickly.
Carson moved in front of me. “Stay behind me,” he whispered.
We walked downstairs slowly. The front door was open.
Carson looked around. “Did you lock the door last night?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m sure I did.”
We stepped outside. On the ground was another envelope, Carson picked it up.
“What’s in it?” I asked.
He opened it and pulled out a photo.
It was my mother.
In the picture, she was standing with a man. His face was blurred, but he had a scar on his hand and on the back of the photo, there was a message.
“She lied to protect you. But she also helped them.”So the letter said.
“What does this mean?” I whispered.
Carson didn’t answer. He looked at the photo again.
“I think it’s time we talked to your mother in person,” he said.
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Later that day, we drove to my mother’s house.
The drive was quiet. Carson held the steering wheel tightly.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I just want answers,” he said.
When we got there, my mother opened the door with a surprised look.
“Annabel?” she said. “Carson?”
“We need to talk,” I said.
She stepped aside and let us in.
We sat in the living room. Carson gave her the photo, and I could notice her hands shook as she looked at it.
“Where did you get this?” she asked.
“It was left at our door,” I said. “You said you were trying to protect me. But this says you helped them,”I added.
She looked at me, then looked away.
“I didn’t want to,but I was scared,”She said.
“Scared of what?” I asked.
“Greg Vale,” she said softly. “And Victoria. After your father’s arrest, they came to me. They said if I didn’t keep quiet, they would hurt you.”
I blinked. “So you kept the truth from me?”I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I thought it was the only way to keep you safe,”She added.
Carson stood up and walked to the window. He looked angry but didn’t say anything.
I stared at my mother. “You knew everything. And you let me grow up with lies.”I said.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I really am. But I couldn’t protect him. I thought maybe I could protect you.”
Carson turned around. “Did you ever meet Greg face to face?”He asked.
She nodded. “Only once. He gave me money and a warning. He said if I ever tried to open the case again, I’d lose everything.”
“So you took the money?” I asked.
“Yes,” she whispered. “But I never used it. I locked it away,”She added.
“Where?” Carson asked quickly.
She stood up. “Come with me,”she said.
We followed her to her bedroom where she opened a drawer and pulled out an old wooden box. Inside was a bundle of money left untouched and also a USB drive.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Greg gave it to me. He said it was proof, in case I ever needed it.”She added.
Carson took it and hid it in his breast bucket.
“We’ll find out what’s on it,” he said.
We drove back to the house, and as soon as we entered ,Carson plugged the USB into his laptop.
We watched as videos and files opened and there were also blur video recordings playing Greg’s voice, Victoria’s voice and Fred’s.
They were talking about my father.
“How do we make him disappear without questions?” Victoria said in one video.
“Frame him,” Greg replied. “We’ll use the fake accounts. He won’t know what hit him.”He said again.
I covered my mouth with my hand in surprise.
Carson paused the video.
“This is it,” he said. “This is what we need.”
“This is what they’ll try to kill us for,” I added.
He nodded. “We need to move carefully now,”He said.
I sat back, unsure of what to do, my world was falling apart. But finally, I had proof and Carson.
Maybe not fully trusted.
But he was here.
And I wasn’t alone anymore.