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"Yes. I had to do something. When he was locked away, it was the first time I could breathe."
"Did you tell that cop you were involved in the robbery at Holden's estate, that Max had killed Kade's father?" I asked.
Rachel shook her head. "No. I focused on the other information I had gotten on his current operations. I didn't have any proof for the other."
"And you didn't want to get yourself in trouble," Kade said sharply.
"That's true, too," Rachel admitted. "After Max went to prison, the cop I'd become friends with helped us get new identities again. We weren't officially in witness protection, because I hadn't testified publicly, but we were able to get new social security numbers, fingerprints, IDs, and fake histories. We became Rachel O'Connor and Laura Hawthorne."
That explained Laura's fake background that had allowed her to teach. "Okay. But why didn't you come back when Max went to prison, Mom?"
"It had been three years since I'd died," Laura said. "It was too late."
"It wasn't too late," I protested. "Dani and I were ten years old. We still needed our mother."
My mom looked at me with sorrow in her eyes. "I actually did go back to see you a year later, but your father was about to marry Vicky, and you all looked so happy, I couldn't ruin that."
"You saw us when we were eleven?" I asked in amazement.
"I was nearby at other times in your life, too. I had to let you go, but I still needed to see you."
"What about what we needed?" Dani demanded, her voice rising with the level of her agitation. "Did you ever think about that? I'm guessing the answer is no. Because you and your sister are selfish. You only think about each other."
"Dani," Steve said. "Maybe we should go. This is too much for you."
"You're right," Dani said. "It is too much. And I'm not sure I even believe half of what either of you are saying. I'll wait outside for you, Brynn. Unless you're ready to go now?"
I could see the challenge in her eyes. Dani wanted me to leave with her, to walk away, but I couldn't, not yet. "In a few minutes," I said, seeing the unhappy gleam in her eyes, but she followed her husband out of the room.
"I don't blame Dani for being angry," my mother said. "I'm sure you feel the same way, Brynn."
"I feel a lot of things." Drawing in a breath, I turned to Kade, who had been standing by throughout their story. "Kade needs to know the truth about his father and why you started sending his mother money," I said. "I've told him some of what I know happened that night, but you need to give us the details."
"I was in Holden's house with Max and this other guy, Jonah," Rachel said. "When Ian took me to the estate days earlier, I was able to get the alarm access codes. When we entered, security was supposed to have gone. But your dad showed up unexpectedly, and Max panicked. He shot your father in the head. I think he died before he hit the ground. Max yelled at me to get the car and bring it around. We'd filled two tote bags with things we'd stolen from the safe. I had one of them in my hand, and I ran. But when I got into the car, I didn't bring it around. I drove away."
"You could have called for help," Kade said harshly.
"Your father was already dead. No one could have helped him."
"That's what you say now. But you didn't want to call for help. You didn't want your boyfriend to get caught and implicate you."
I wondered if Kade was right.
"I was in a panic," Rachel admitted. "But I knew your father was dead."
"And you thought that by doling out some cash to my mother that you would somehow exonerate yourself for what happened?" Kade challenged.
"I never thought that," Rachel said, not backing down from his direct glare.
"She didn't," Laura said. "It wasn't Rachel's idea to send your mom money; it was mine. I couldn't live knowing that my sister had been involved in something that led to a man's death, that there was a widow and a child who were struggling. I came up with the foundation idea to protect our identities, and I sent the money for years until your mother sent it back."
"Why didn't you let it go then?" Kade asked. "Why seek me out? Why pretend to love my art?"
"I didn't pretend. I did love your art. I do love it," Laura said. "When your mom asked me not to send any more money, I thought okay, it's done. But then I saw your art and I wanted to support it. It was so raw and real. I grew up in a world of pain and turmoil, too. Your art spoke to me, and I wanted to help you reach your potential."
"But you weren't even at the robbery, Laura," Kade said. "Why did my dad's death bother you so much?"
"Because it was wrong. Because it was horrible. And because my sister blamed herself, too. Rachel was a wreck for months. Her anxiety about that night led to her giving up her children. She couldn't live her life because she'd been there when an innocent person had lost his."
