Chapter 16 - A MOTHER'S PRICE
Vivian was brought in for questioning. She arrived in the same pearl earrings she'd worn beneath Marcus's memorial portrait, as though clothing could make the evidence less real.
Reyes played the recording. Vivian stared at the tabletop.
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“My son had endangered the business.”
“Did you know he was alive?”
Vivian looked away. “I suspected.”
“Did you instruct anyone to keep him from contacting his daughter?”
“I told them to keep the situation contained.”
Reyes waited. He had learned that silence sometimes worked better than outrage.
Finally Vivian said, “The company had loans coming due. If Marcus stopped the sale, we would lose everything.”
“You would lose control,” he corrected.
Her lawyer ended the interview. But investigators already had the transaction records, the altered certification, and testimony from Gabriel and the rescue crew. Brent was arrested in connection with the explosion and unlawful confinement. Celeste faced separate charges tied to the fraudulent transfers and Lily's treatment. Vivian's involvement would be tested against the evidence, not her title.
Marcus listened to the update in Naomi's office. The first emotion that came was relief. The second was grief, old and enormous.
“She's my mother,” he said.
“And Lily is your daughter,” Naomi answered.
He went to a scheduled visit. Lily was stacking wooden blocks and squealed when she saw him. She climbed into his lap, then noticed he was crying.
“Are you sad because Grandma is mad?”
“No, sweetheart. I'm sad because adults made choices that hurt people.”
Lily touched his cheek. “Are you going away again?”
Before he could answer, Denise opened the door and held out a sealed envelope.
May you like
“The judge has made a decision about where Lily can live.”
