AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shook slightly, and I wasn’t even certain if it was fake. “I’m freezing—from the inside.” When Carina was in the hospital, she’d always said that after treatments. Our parents would rush to get her tea, and she’d give me a mischievous smile, telling me that she’d just wanted them out of the room so we could be alone.
“Are you certain you’re okay alone?” He looked at the lawyer with distrustful eyes, as though the man he’d hired was the enemy. I’d give him props for not flinching at that look.
I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest. “Yes,” I said. “I just need something warm.”
He sighed, but after a moment, he got up from his chair. “I’ll be back in a moment.” It sounded more like a threat than anything else. But it didn’t matter. He was out of the door, giving me a few moments alone with the lawyer.
“It’s bad, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “I’m not going to lie to you,” he admitted. “They are looking to pin all of this on Eli. Getting the eldest Blanchi son is a boon for them.”
“I figured.” The police had treated me with kid gloves, trying to get me to turn on Eli. They were so sure that he’d been the one to do this, probably because of Caleb.
But there was something that they didn’t know. Reaching down into my bra, I pulled out my phone. “What if I could give them a recording of everything that happened. Including Caleb and Callum admitting to murdering my family.”
Before Caleb made me ditch my phone, I’d slipped it into my blouse, hitting record as I did so. I’d been too out of it when Eli asked to pull it out, but as I came back to myself, I remembered that I’d instinctively known that I needed to get their confession on tape.
The lawyer inhaled sharply. “You recorded everything?”
I nodded. “I did.” I cleared my throat. “Though there are some things on there that my father might not want widely shared.” I lifted my brow, hoping he would understand what I wasn’t saying.
“That recording might be your lifeline. If what you’ve got proves what you are saying, we might be willing to make a deal.”
The lawyer held his hand out for my phone, but my grip tightened around it. He was right, this was my only leverage, and I wasn’t just going to give it up without getting something in return.
“There’s something I need you to organize for me first.”
The lawyer sighed but nodded. Only then did I hand over the phone.
CHAPTERFORTY-FOUR
My father was pissed that I had not yet been let go, but I didn’t mind it so much. What was causing me to pace the interview room like a caged animal was the unknown. Shortly after Doc left the room, there’d been a flurry of activity, and I’d been left alone in the interrogation room for what felt like hours.
Pride was the only thing that kept me from slamming my hands against the two-way glass.
When the door finally opened, I released a sigh of relief. Even if it was the cops coming to formally charge me, at least things were moving along. I was tired of waiting.
“Carla?”
I was shocked to see Carla step into the interview room. Her small frame was dwarfed by a suit jacket, and her normally golden skin was completely pale.
“You’ve got ten minutes,” the cop who escorted her in said. There was a sour look on the woman’s face, making it clear she wasn’t happy about us being in the same room together. Not that I cared, it was taking everything in me not to rush towards Carla and take her into my arms.
“Hey,” she said once the officer finally closed the door.
That was when I broke. I didn’t care who might be watching us. I took Carla into my arms, pressing her close to my chest. There was still a slight tremble in her bones, but she seemed to be doing better.
I didn’t know how long we were intertwined, but I only pulled away because I knew from what the cop said that we only had limited time together, and I did not want to waste it.
“How did you—”
Carla shook her head. “We don’t have much time. I just wanted to see you before…”
Ice shot through my veins. “What do you mean?”
Carla sighed and took my hand. “Don’t be mad,” she pleaded. Her eyes were wide as she looked at me, and I realized there was more vulnerability on her face than I’d ever seen.
“I’m not going to be mad.” Something told me I was going to be pissed, but Carla didn’t need that right now. After everything that happened, she needed a rock, and I would be that for her. I would be whatever she needed.
