Chapter 8 - THE PRICE OF PEACE
Richard arrived at the hospital wearing a charcoal suit.
He carried no flowers.
David saw him step out of the elevator and moved before his father reached the nurses’ station.
“You’re leaving.”
Richard stopped.
“I want to see my grandson.”
“No.”
“You’re emotional.”
“Yes.”
For a moment, Richard seemed thrown by the simple answer.
David had always defended himself against that word.
Now he let it stand.
A security officer approached.
“Everything okay?”
“My father isn’t allowed near my children.”
Richard straightened.
“This is a family matter.”
Sarah appeared behind David.
“No,” she said. “It stopped being a family matter when someone locked our son in a room.”
Richard’s expression softened in a way David suddenly recognized as deliberate.
“Sarah. I know you’re hurting.”
“You watched me blame myself.”
“I never wanted—”
“You watched me take pills just to sleep for two hours. You watched Maya set a place for him on his birthday.”
Richard glanced toward the nurses.
“Lower your voice.”
Sarah stepped closer.
“Did you know?”
He looked at David instead.
“We need to speak privately.”
“No,” David said.
Richard slipped an envelope from inside his jacket.
“I’ve arranged treatment. The best people. Anywhere you want. There’s also financial support.”
David didn’t touch it.
“For what?”
“For your family.”
“In exchange for what?”
“Your sister needs medical care, not a public spectacle.”
Sarah laughed once, a sharp, broken sound.
“He’s nine now.”
Richard blinked.
“What?”
“Leo. He turned nine without us. Did you know that? Did either of you remember?”
The envelope lowered.
At the elevator, Reyes stepped out with another investigator.
Richard saw her and changed immediately.
His shoulders squared. His mouth closed.
“Mr. Vance,” Reyes said. “We’d like to speak with you.”
“My attorney will contact you.”
“That’s your right.”
David stood aside as security escorted Richard toward a private area away from the children’s rooms.
He felt no victory.
Only nausea.
A few minutes later, Reyes returned.
“Did he give you anything?”
David pointed to the envelope Richard had set on a chair.
Inside was a letter from a private treatment center.
Beneath it lay a proposed payment agreement.
Sarah read the first page, then stopped.
“What?”
She handed it to David.
One paragraph required the family to refrain from public statements about Elena’s conduct.
At the bottom was a number large enough to buy another beautiful house.
May you like
David looked toward the elevator.
His father still believed every locked door had a price.
