Ben’s laugh fills the room. “Are you fucking kidding me. You go to all this trouble to tell me Silas is watching me?” He looks up at the ceiling, slowly shaking his head from side to side. “This is unbelievable. You’ve underestimated me if you think I’m not aware of everything your husband is doing.”
“No, that’s not why! We all should be working together. But y’all aren’t and it’s going to blow up in our faces if you don’t.”
Ben looks incredulous as he stalks around the counter so he’s closer to her. “I tried that. Randall and Silas are forgetting the only reason they even know about this shit with Foster is because I told them after his file landed on Hank’s desk.”
Margaret laughs loudly. “Well, excuse me. I’m just trying to make sure no one does anything crazy, because it seems like all of y’all are losing your minds over this. They think you’re going to use the evidence against them. That’s what’s got them worried. You just need to tell them you aren’t!”
He takes another step forward, causing Margaret to lean back on her stool. “They should be worried. I guarantee you the first thing I will do is use it to extricate myself from underneath Randall Everett’s thumb, where he’s kept me pinned all these years!”
“You know this won’t end well for you if you get it first. Neither of them will ever let you have power over them in any way.”
His face comes closer to hers. I can see a vein popping in his forehead. “I didn’t agree to cover for Silas that night he killed those people just so Randall fucking Everett could control the rest of my life.”
Wait.
Wait, wait, wait.
What is he saying?
Ben was involved that night, right?
Ben.
Not Silas.
Silas wasn’t even in Corbeau that summer. I backpacked through Europe and Silas worked on a cattle ranch in Texas.
It’s why I never even considered Silas could have been involved in this.
Ben steps away from her, his hands shoved in his pockets; a weird calmness settles over him. “I would have never agreed to be his alibi if I had known it meant I’d be Randall’s puppet all these years, no better than every other person who does his dirty work for him.”
I feel sick. And confused.
Silas was the one who was driving Paul’s truck that night?
And everyone in my family seems to know about it but me.
Rage starts deep in my belly and spreads through every limb. I’m shaking I’m so mad. And sad. And sick.
This is a nightmare.
Ben gives her a pointed look. “Why are you really here? This conversation could have been a phone call.”
She turns toward him. “I told you, I’m worried about Silas. And I think he wants to tell Camille everything. It bothers him she doesn’t know what happened or how involved you are with Randall. And you know how pissed she’d be.”
He crosses his arms. He can be very intimidating when he wants to be. “I don’t give a shit what he tells her. She’ll bury her head in the sand like she’s done her whole life. She loves to pretend she doesn’t know where the money comes from, walking the moral high ground, as long as her lifestyle doesn’t change. This is no different.”
Sinking down on the floor, I have to cover my mouth to muffle the scream begging to be released.
Margaret paces around my kitchen in a tight circle while he watches. “Randall won’t just sit back and wait to see what happens.”
Ben slams his hand down on the counter and she jumps. “I’m done with Randall. Done with taking the cases he wants me to, just to keep his scumbag friends out of prison. Done with helping him line his pockets. It’s time I line my own. And I’m not even starting down this path with Silas. This bullshit ends tonight. And the last thing I need is your fucking help to do it.”
I fall back against the chair and try to catch my breath. I had no idea Ben has been so wrapped up in my dad’s bullshit all these years. This is exactly what I didn’t want. I never wanted to live like this. It’s why I’vebeen so hesitant to start a family, because I never wanted to bring a child into this dirty way of life.
There’s a nervous quiver to her voice when she says, “You have a plan. I can tell. What are you going to do?”
Ben moves closer so there’s very little space between them. His jaw clenches. I know that look. He’s trying hard not to lose his temper. His hands encircle her wrists, holding her in place. “Did Silas send you here? You switch sides on me?”
