Chapter 13 - A Bargain I Refused

“Adrian is already alive,” I said.

Raymond was quiet for a beat. “For now.”

I put the phone on speaker so June and Detective Chen, who had just arrived, could hear. Chen gestured for me to keep talking.

“You threatened a pregnant woman,” I said. “What did you think I'd do?”

“I thought you'd act like family.”

“You taught me family was supposed to keep people safe.”

“And I kept your mother alive as long as I could.”

“No. She paid for that time with her silence.”

Raymond's breath rasped through the line. “Meet me tomorrow. Alone.”

“No.”

“You haven't heard my offer.”

“I've heard enough.”

I hung up. My hands shook afterward, but the word I'd said kept echoing inside me. No. One small word, an entire locked door.

Chen's team traced the call as far as possible and added it to the case. They were preparing warrants, but needed to locate Nathan and connect the threats to specific suspects.

That afternoon, Adrian sent a sworn statement through Evelyn. It described the forged audit, the payment, the threats, and the affair. He didn't spare himself. He also resigned from his company pending investigation and offered to repay money he had improperly accepted.

“I thought you'd want to see he finally told the truth,” Evelyn said.

I read it twice. “He should have done this years ago.”

“Yes.”

“But he did it.”

“Yes.”

I couldn't decide whether that mattered to our marriage. I only knew it mattered to the case.

A few hours later, Celeste arrived at the police station with her attorney. She offered to cooperate in exchange for consideration regarding her own role. Investigators found she had helped stage the threatening messages, but she claimed Nathan controlled the operation and Raymond controlled the money.

Her statement included an appointment calendar. Raymond was scheduled to meet an unknown buyer at the riverfront the following evening, with the remaining financial records as collateral.

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Chen told me this privately because a protective order for my safety might be necessary.

Then she added, “There's something else. The buyer used your maiden name on the reservation.”