“Do you understand what you’ve done? When I told you I needed to come home, I thought I made it explicitly clear that it was important that no one outside of us know that Evelyn was here for her own safety.”
“So you wanted to just lie to all of us?” Aja snapped, passing the folder to Janae. She flipped the folder open while Mom looked over her shoulder, eyeing Evelyn at the same time.
“Unless Ms. Howard is running from the law, then I do not see how Sheriff Strauss looking into her further endangers her safety, or do you not care about the safety of your family?”
His response felt like a slap in the face. He had no right to question my love for them.
“I’ve always cared about this family, even when you made me feel unwelcome. You don’t get to question my love or my loyalty.”
He slammed his fist down on the table, causing a glass to tip over the clattering plates.
“You know nothing of loyalty. You left your family and your legacy ten years ago to pursue a dream that will land you in a wooden box. Now you come home with a stray begging for my protection. The work I’ve done and your grandfather and his father before him afforded these luxuries you so happily snubbed your nose at ten years ago.”
“Grandfather would’ve never approved of the way you do business.” Janae may have muttered, but her statement rang out like a gunshot in the room.
“What would you know, girl?” He spat. “I know your head is still up in the clouds. I would’ve thought you’ve grown out of the frivolous dreaming.”
“Jonathan!” our mother hissed.
“I should’ve left like Parker. Every day since I signed that stupid agreement, I’ve regretted it.”
Aja stood up after Janae’s admission. I felt like I had whiplash watching the scene unfold. “What agreement?” I interrupted the question tumbling from my lips.
Aja was staring down the side of Janae’s profile, and Janae refused to budge. She just looked down at her half-eaten plate.
“Yes, Jon. What agreement is she referring to?” My mother followed up.
“Dad said we’d gain early access to our inheritance if we graduated at the top of our classes and took positions at the company once we completed our studies. If we disagreed, we would have had to pay for everything throughout college and wait to gain access to our inheritance until we turned thirty.”
My mother’s eyes widened as she looked at our father, then at the twins.
My anger could no longer be pushed down and ignored to keep the peace. Our father had manipulated us. Judging by the look on our mother’s face, she had no idea this agreement existed. Would she have done anything? I’m not sure.
I took a deep breath.
“I don’t know what is in that file, and I do not care. Evelyn is in serious danger, and you’ve just led a killer to us. Someone in the police department is leaking information to him. No one can be trusted. If you had just spoken to me about this, then I would have told you. You gave me your word.”
“You’re a fool. You’ve always been a sucker, and I knew you wouldn’t be able to see past the beautiful face to the truth. She’s lying. That boy got off clean because he was innocent. She almost ruined that man’s life with that lie.” He sneered.
“I am not a liar.” Her voice surprised me. Evelyn turned in her chair and directed her attention to my father. “I did not lie about what happened to me that day. I would never. He killed my sister and almost killed me. He tortured us before slitting herthroat right in front of me. Charles Gibbons is a monster and far from innocent.”
Tears ran down her face as my father picked at the old wound. She told her truth back then, and no one believed her. Evelyn told the police about the most horrific day of her life, and they said Charles had an alibi. She didn’t look back when she rose from her chair and left the room.
Good. I didn’t want her here for what was about to go down.
“I’ve heard enough.”
“Jonathan, please be reasonable.” My mother said in her usual soothing tone.
“Reasonable? That is something he’s never been.” I huff out a dry chuckle. “The twins got stiffed with a deal ensuring they never leave Oakland Ridge. Dad is building a prison and doing shady deals in a warehouse out in East Jesus. He broke his word to me, knowing how vulnerable we are. Look at how he’s treating Evelyn. Does any of that sound reasonable to you, Ma?”
My tone caught her off guard. I’d never raised my voice to my mother, but I just couldn’t help it. She was always choosing to be neutral—if she ever agreed with us, we’d never know it. Mom was sad when I left, but never once stood up for me.
“Watch your tone, Parker James.” She scolded, clearly out of her daze.
“You want to talk about my tone?” My voice boomed across the dining room.
“Prison?” Taking her eyes off Janae, Aja turned to our father. “You can’t possibly think Oakland Ridge would benefit from this; you want our legacy to include abuse and neglect. Dad, you know what happens in these places. How could you do this?”
