Chapter 13 - THE CONFESSION
Rosalie stared at the gun.
Her body remembered fear before her mind did.
Eleven years old.
Blue ceiling.
Leather restraints.
Her father’s voice telling her she was confused.
For one second, she was that child again.
Then she heard Manuel’s words.
You don’t have to prove you’re brave by walking into his trap.
She breathed.
Emmett pointed toward the chair.
“Sit.”
“No.”
His face changed.
“Sit down.”
“No.”
“You never learned.”
“That’s the problem.”
Rosalie looked at him.
“I learned exactly what you taught me.”
“You taught me silence keeps people like you powerful.”
“You taught me fear works best when nobody compares stories.”
“You taught me that every lie needs everyone else to stay quiet.”
Emmett stepped closer.
“I gave you everything.”
“You gave me scars.”
“I protected you.”
“You imprisoned me.”
“I built your future.”
“You stole my mother from it.”
Emmett’s hand tightened around the pistol.
“Lorelei was weak.”
“No.”
“She was stronger than you.”
The words hit him.
Rosalie saw it.
“She begged.”
Rosalie went still.
Emmett smiled.
There.
The cruelty he usually hid.
“She begged me not to take you.”
Rosalie’s eyes burned.
“But I did.”
“Why?”
“To teach her.”
“To teach her what?”
“That nobody leaves me.”
Rosalie stared at him.
Outside, agents were attempting to restore surveillance.
But they didn’t need the hidden camera.
Maya had installed a second transmitter.
Not on Rosalie.
Inside the childhood bracelet.
Every word was being recorded.
Emmett continued.
“Daniel thought numbers could destroy me.”
“Lorelei thought photographs could destroy me.”
“And now you think a wedding and a few old scars can destroy me.”
Rosalie looked toward the bracelet.
Emmett didn’t notice.
“What happened to Daniel?”
“He refused to understand his place.”
“What happened?”
Emmett smiled.
“I put him somewhere he would never speak again.”
“The foundation.”
His expression answered before his mouth did.
“And Mom?”
“I needed her alive.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew where the ledgers were.”
“When she refused?”
“I made sure nobody would believe anything she said.”
Rosalie’s voice trembled.
“You told her I was dead.”
“Yes.”
“You told me she was dead.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because hope makes people difficult to control.”
Outside, Manuel heard every word.
So did federal agents.
So did the sheriff.
Maya looked at the lead agent.
“That enough?”
“More than enough.”
Agents moved.
Inside, Emmett finally noticed the bracelet.
His expression changed.
He picked it up.
A tiny light blinked beneath the clasp.
His face twisted.
“You.”
Rosalie backed away.
Emmett threw the bracelet against the wall.
Then grabbed her arm.
Rosalie screamed.
The ballroom doors exploded inward.
“FEDERAL AGENTS!”
Emmett pulled Rosalie against him.
The pistol rose.
Manuel entered behind the tactical team.
He saw Rosalie.
He saw the gun.
He stopped.
Emmett laughed.
“Perfect.”
He pressed the weapon closer to Rosalie.
“The groom came back.”
Rosalie looked at Manuel.
Manuel didn’t move.
“Let her go.”
Emmett smiled.
“You married something broken.”
Rosalie closed her eyes.
Then opened them.
“No.”
Her father looked down.
Rosalie stared directly at him.
May you like
“You broke things around me.”
“You never broke me.”
