Chapter 12 - THE OLD HALE HOUSE
Rocco wanted to tear the county apart.
Gary forced him to think.
“If we rush the house, we could push Brenda into doing something desperate.”
“She already attacked my daughter.”
“Exactly.”
Preston stood beside the open car door, shaking.
“I know the house.”
Rocco turned on him.
“You’re not coming.”
“She grew up there.”
“So?”
“There’s a storm cellar nobody uses.”
Gary looked at Preston.
“Another entrance?”
“Yes.”
Rocco hated needing him.
He hated the whole family for making Audrey pay for their lies.
They drove to the Hale property without lights for the final half mile.
Inside the house, Audrey sat tied to a dining chair.
Brenda paced in front of her.
“You ruined everything,” Brenda said.
Audrey stared at her.
“You tried to kill my baby and I ruined everything?”
“You have no idea what your family took from mine.”
“My mother tried to stop you from stealing.”
Brenda slapped the table beside Audrey, not her.
“Your mother convinced Thomas to betray us.”
“Thomas was your husband.”
“He was weak.”
Audrey finally understood.
This had never been about grief.
Brenda did not want justice for Thomas.
She hated him for choosing the truth over her.
Outside, Preston entered through the storm cellar.
He heard his mother say the words through the floor vent.
“I spent twenty years fixing the mistake your mother made.”
Then Audrey asked, “Was marrying Preston to me part of the fix?”
Brenda smiled.
“My son was the easiest part.”
May you like
Preston closed his eyes.
His mother had just admitted that even his marriage had been used as a weapon.
