Chapter 12 - THE FALL
Pain exploded through my hands.
I screamed.
Vanessa pressed harder.
“Let go.”
Then Mom slammed into her.
They crashed onto the pavement.
I slipped.
One hand came free.
“Clara!”
Arthur grabbed my wrist.
James grabbed the other.
They pulled me up.
Behind us, Mom and Vanessa fought.
Vanessa clawed at Mom’s face.
“You should have died!”
Mom punched her.
Vanessa stumbled backward.
Agents rushed forward.
Then Daniel appeared.
He had escaped the ambulance.
His shirt was soaked with blood.
Vanessa stared.
“You idiot.”
Dad raised his phone.
“I backed everything up.”
Vanessa froze.
Dad had lied at the warehouse.
The messages weren’t gone.
He held up a cloud backup containing years of texts.
Bribes.
Bank transfers.
Photos.
Plans.
One message read:
Brake line done. She won’t make the turn.
Vanessa’s face went blank.
Agent Brooks cuffed her.
Then Dad looked at Mom.
“I’ll testify.”
Mom said nothing.
He looked at me.
“Clara?”
I stepped back.
He cried.
“I’m still your father.”
My chest hurt.
“Then why didn’t you protect me?”
He had no answer.
Agents arrested him too.
As they led him away, Vanessa began laughing.
Everyone turned.
“You think this is over?”
Mom stared at her.
Vanessa smiled.
“Ask Evelyn where the eighteen million really came from.”
Agent Brooks stopped.
May you like
Mom went pale.
For the first time since returning, my mother looked afraid.
