Chapter 13 - WHAT GRANDMA FINALLY SAW
Naomi told Daniel not to meet Evelyn alone.
He didn’t.
They sat in Naomi’s office the next afternoon, with Evelyn’s phone on the table between them.
Without the sharp coat and lipstick she usually wore, she looked smaller.
Daniel refused to confuse that with innocence.
“Show us,” he said.
Evelyn scrolled through messages from Rachel.
At first, they were familiar.
Daniel’s falling apart.
The kids need someone stronger.
I’m doing everything.
Then the language changed.
He won’t keep this job without me.
If he loses it, they’ll have to come to us.
Daniel leaned forward.
Another message had been sent after he discovered the missing money.
Once I’m the official caregiver, I can straighten out the expenses.
Naomi asked Evelyn to stop scrolling.
“Please preserve all of this. We’ll explain how to provide copies without altering the originals.”
Evelyn nodded.
“There are voice messages too.”
Daniel did not want to hear Rachel’s voice.
He made himself stay.
The first recording began with Rachel complaining about the hospital.
Then:
“He’s acting like Owen’s some little saint. That kid watches everything. He writes things down. I told you he’d become a problem.”
Evelyn started crying.
Daniel kept his eyes on the phone.
Rachel continued.
“If you can get him by himself, maybe he’ll stop repeating all this. He listens to you.”
Naomi stopped the recording.
The office was very quiet.
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“Is that why you went to the school?”
She wiped her face.
“I thought if I could explain—”
“Explain what?”
“That families don’t destroy each other over—”
She stopped.
He waited.
Finally, Evelyn whispered, “I didn’t want to believe her.”
“You didn’t want to believe him.”
Evelyn looked down.
“Yes.”
The word arrived too late to fix anything.
But it was the first honest word she had given him.
She handed over the statement Rachel had asked her to sign.
Several claims were things Evelyn had never witnessed.
She agreed to tell the investigator that.
At the door, she turned.
“Will I ever see them again?”
Daniel stood beside Naomi’s desk.
“That won’t be decided because you’re sorry today.”
Evelyn nodded and left.
Minutes later, Daniel’s phone rang.
The investigator had received the bank records and additional statements.
They were moving forward.
Rachel had also been contacted.
“She knows the evidence is being reviewed,” the investigator said. “If she reaches out, save everything.”
May you like
Daniel’s screen lit up before the call ended.
RACHEL: Owen needs to understand what happens next is his fault.
