Chapter 16 - The Price of a Quiet Mother
Detective Kim warned us not to turn Malcolm's last words into a verdict. Recordings can be edited; voices can be misidentified. Investigators would authenticate the file and compare it with the other evidence.
I wanted a clean answer. The law wanted proof. For once, I was grateful somebody was taking the slower road.
Arthur's attorney sent Celia an offer anyway: a generous trust for Lily, a university fund for me, and a confidentiality agreement that would stop us from discussing the laboratory records publicly. It would also require me to withdraw any civil claims against the Haynes family.
"He's offering security," Celia said, "in exchange for your voice."
"He's offering me the same silence he bought four years ago."
I refused. Celia kept the offer and forwarded information relevant to the investigation through the proper channels.
That afternoon, Victoria gave an interview on television. She wore a pale dress and spoke about generosity, betrayal, and the difficulties of marrying a public figure. She called the incident with Lily "an unfortunate misunderstanding."
My daughter was making paper stars at the kitchen table when the clip appeared on my phone. I muted it before she could hear Victoria's voice.
"Is that the shiny lady?" Lily asked.
"Yes. But she's not coming near you."
Lily thought about that. "Can bad people become nice?"
"Some people learn," I said. "But we don't have to wait beside them while they do."
That night Grace called. Someone had tried to access the mansion's old camera server using Owen Pike's credentials. The request was rejected, but it identified a terminal at a Haynes office.
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A few minutes later Kim called with news of her own: Pike had been located, and investigators were moving to question him.
Before dawn, Arthur Haynes's office announced that Owen Pike was missing.
