Chapter 8 - Evelyn's Version of Love
Evelyn requested to speak with Ryan.
Officer Ruiz advised against it.
Ryan insisted.
They met inside a police interview room separated by a wide metal table.
Evelyn had changed clothes.
She now wore a dark navy suit.
Her hair was still perfect.
"How is Oliver?"
Ryan stared at her.
"You don't get to ask that."
Evelyn's expression barely moved.
"I am his grandmother."
"You hid his inhaler."
"I protected him."
Ryan almost stood.
"From what?"
"From Maya."
Ryan laughed bitterly.
"My son couldn't breathe."
"Because Maya panicked."
"You diluted his medication."
"That has not been proven."
The answer came too quickly.
Ryan noticed.
So did the detective behind the observation glass.
Evelyn leaned forward.
"Ryan, your wife has been unstable since Oliver's birth."
"She has anxiety."
"She cries."
"She becomes irrational."
"She sees threats everywhere."
Ryan stared at his mother.
"You created the threats."
Evelyn's eyes hardened.
"I created evidence."
The room became silent.
Perhaps she realized too late how the sentence sounded.
Ryan leaned closer.
"Say that again."
Evelyn straightened.
"I documented behavior."
"No."
Ryan shook his head.
"You manufactured behavior."
Evelyn exhaled.
"You were never going to see it."
"See what?"
"That she was taking you away from your family."
Ryan stared at her.
There it was.
Not concern for Oliver.
Not concern for Maya.
Possession.
Evelyn continued.
"You stopped coming to Sunday dinners."
"You changed the trust."
"You refused to put Whitmore assets under family management."
"You started making decisions without me."
Ryan almost whispered.
"Because I grew up."
Something flashed across Evelyn's face.
For the first time, the perfect calm cracked.
"I sacrificed everything for you."
"And therefore I owe you my wife and child?"
"I made you."
Ryan stood.
"No."
He looked down at her.
"You raised me."
"Those are not the same thing."
Evelyn's jaw tightened.
Then she said something Ryan would remember forever.
"You will understand when Maya destroys you."
Ryan walked toward the door.
Behind him, Evelyn called his name.
He stopped but did not turn.
"Your wife has not told you everything."
Ryan finally looked back.
Evelyn smiled.
It was a small smile.
Confident.
Cruel.
"Ask Maya why she already had divorce papers."
Ryan left without answering.
But the words followed him all the way back to the hospital.
Maya was sleeping beside Oliver.
Ryan sat in the hallway for nearly twenty minutes.
Then Maya woke and joined him.
He did not accuse her.
He simply asked.
"Were you planning to leave me?"
Maya went still.
Then she nodded.
"Yes."
Ryan felt the answer in his chest.
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
He stared at her.
Maya's voice broke.
May you like
"I wasn't leaving because I stopped loving you."
"I was leaving because I didn't think you would believe me until your mother killed something we couldn't get back."
