She tucks her knees up to her chest. “That was when I realized something else. Something bigger.”
Gideon turns slowly. “What else?”
Minxy looks at Talon first, like she’s afraid to say it.
“It wasn’t just Todd,” she whispers. “Mom killed Dad too.”
Talon’s face drains of color.
“She shot him and made it look like suicide. I heard her talking about it a few days later to someone. She thought I was asleep.”
Gideon looks like he’s about to break the table in half. Silas closes his eyes, like knowing the truth is physically painful.
Minxy hugs her knees tighter. “I didn’t understand at first. I thought they were talking about how sad Mom was. I didn’t know they meant she’d staged everything. Until…”
Her voice drops even lower.
“Until I found Randy.”
Gideon’s head snaps toward her. “Randy? You talked to him?”
Minxy nods.
“Who’s Randy?” I ask.
“Randy was my mom’s boyfriend in between Todd and your dad. They dated for a while, and he proposed, but then he brokeit off, and we never saw him again.” Talon rubs a hand over his face and through his hair.
“Mom told us he ran off too, but he didn’t. He moved out of state. I found him online, messaged him, and he agreed to talk. He said Mom drained his accounts and tried to get rid of him too. He said she was dangerous. That Talon and I would never be safe with her. But he couldn’t help.”
She swallows hard.
“I confronted Mom the next morning. I asked about Dad. And Todd. And Randy.”
“What did she do?” Penelope asks softly.
Minxy’s face twists. “She laughed. She told me I was imagining things. She said I was crazy.” Her voice cracks. “And she sent me to St. Helen’s the next day.”
Talon drags her into his arms before she folds in on herself. She collapses against him, tears hitting his hoodie in fast, silent drops.
“You’re not alone,” he whispers. “You’re not alone anymore. I promise.”
Gideon returns and crouches in front of her. His voice is low and steady. “We’re going to make sure you never go back there. We’re going to get justice for Todd and Dominic.”
Silas rests a hand on Talon’s shoulder, then Minxy’s. “They don’t get to own your story anymore.”
I slide closer and tuck a blanket around her legs. “Or your fear.”
Minxy sniffles. “I didn’t know if you’d believe me.”
“We do,” Talon says.
Silas nods. “Every word.”
Gideon’s jaw works once, tight. “You survived her. You outsmarted her. That takes guts.”
She studies him through red-rimmed eyes. “Are you going to tell the police?”
“Eventually,” he says. “But not before you’re safe. Not before we have everything nailed down.”
