Chapter 7 - Caleb’s Confession
Caleb asked for a lawyer.
That told me enough.
I didn’t confront him.
I wanted to.
Instead, I waited.
By evening, he requested to speak with investigators.
His attorney sat beside him.
Elena and Shaw were present.
I wasn’t supposed to be.
But Caleb asked for me.
“I need him to hear it.”
So I sat across from my brother.
He couldn’t look at me.
“Emily came home Tuesday.”
I waited.
“She was angry.”
“About being forced into labor?”
“Everything.”
He rubbed his hands together.
“She wanted Noah and she wanted out.”
“She packed a bag.”
“Mom wouldn’t let her leave.”
“How?”
“She took the car keys.”
I felt my jaw tighten.
“Then?”
“Emily threatened to walk.”
Caleb’s voice dropped.
“Mom put something in her tea.”
The room went silent.
“You knew?”
“Not until afterward.”
“What happened?”
“Emily became dizzy.”
“She realized something was wrong.”
“She grabbed Mom’s phone.”
“That’s what was in her fist?”
Caleb nodded.
“She tried to call you.”
Mother fought her for the phone.
That explained the marks beneath Emily’s fingernails.
“She fell?”
“Yes.”
“Did the fall kill her?”
“No.”
Caleb began crying.
Quietly.
“She woke up.”
My entire body went cold.
“When?”
“Maybe twenty minutes later.”
“And?”
“She was confused.”
“She asked for Noah.”
I leaned forward.
“What did you do?”
“I brought him to her.”
That surprised me.
“She held him.”
“She kissed him.”
“She told me to call an ambulance.”
“Did you?”
Caleb stared at the table.
“No.”
That single word hurt almost as much as hearing Emily was dead.
“Why?”
“Mom said if I called anyone, we’d both go to prison for the money.”
“So you let my wife die?”
“I thought she would recover.”
“You thought?”
My voice rose for the first time.
Elena touched my arm.
I pulled away but stayed seated.
Caleb cried harder.
“Emily got worse.”
“She stopped responding.”
“When?”
“About an hour later.”
“And then?”
“Mom checked her pulse.”
He closed his eyes.
“She said she was gone.”
I stood.
Elena blocked me.
Not aggressively.
Just enough.
Caleb looked at me.
“I’m sorry.”
I stared at him.
“You had a phone.”
“I know.”
“You had a car.”
“I know.”
“You had an hour.”
“I know.”
I wanted to hate him.
Maybe part of me always would.
But another question mattered more.
“Why was she already in a coffin when I arrived?”
Caleb wiped his face.
“Mom had arranged everything.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“She called someone.”
“Who?”
“I never heard his name.”
“But I saw his car.”
“What car?”
Caleb looked at Shaw.
“Black Lincoln.”
“Government plates.”
May you like
Elena became very still.
Government plates changed everything.
