Chapter 11 - THE SHOT
The gun fired.
I didn’t feel pain.
For half a second, I wondered if that was what dying felt like.
Then my mother dropped.
Martinez had fired first.
Diane hit the floor clutching her shoulder.
The gun slid away.
Officers swarmed the barn.
I stumbled backward.
Someone grabbed me.
Detective Cole.
“You hit?”
“I don’t think so.”
She checked me quickly.
“You’re okay.”
My legs gave out.
I sat on the dirt floor.
Across the barn, paramedics treated Sabrina.
My mother screamed curses while officers handcuffed her to the stretcher.
Even bleeding, she blamed everyone else.
“You did this!”
She pointed at me.
“You destroyed this family!”
I looked at her.
“No.”
My voice was calm.
“You did.”
Her face twisted.
“You ungrateful little—”
Martinez stepped between us.
“That’s enough.”
As they wheeled her outside, she looked at Sabrina.
“I should have left you with your father.”
Sabrina closed her eyes.
That was the last thing our mother said to us before the ambulance doors closed.
The next morning, the district attorney announced multiple charges.
Child abuse.
Unlawful imprisonment.
Fraud.
Witness intimidation.
Forgery.
Assault.
Kidnapping.
And the investigation into my father’s death was officially reopened.
Diane didn’t get bail.
Sabrina did.
That surprised me.
But she had agreed to cooperate.
Completely.
She gave investigators access to emails, financial accounts, cloud backups, and voice recordings.
She also admitted she had been helping our mother build the false guardianship case for eleven months.
When I saw her outside the courthouse, she looked smaller somehow.
No designer sunglasses.
No perfect hair.
No arrogant smile.
Just a tired woman with bruises and shame.
“You don’t have to forgive me,” she said.
“I don’t.”
She nodded.
“I know.”
“You hurt Grace.”
“I know.”
“You used Connor.”
Her eyes filled.
“I know.”
“Stop saying that.”
She flinched.
“I’m sorry.”
“That doesn’t fix it.”
“No.”
I started walking away.
Then she called after me.
“Rachel.”
I stopped.
“There’s one thing Mom doesn’t know I kept.”
I turned.
Sabrina reached into her bag.
A flash drive.
“What is it?”
“Dad.”
My heart stopped.
“What about him?”
“I found this in Mom’s safe last year.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I thought I could use it against her someday.”
Of course.
“What’s on it?”
“A recording.”
“Of what?”
She swallowed.
“The night Dad died.”
I stared at her.
“Have you listened to it?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
Tears slid down her face.
“Rachel…”
May you like
She held out the drive.
“Dad knew she was going to kill him.”
