Chapter 12 - WHEN CONNOR FINALLY TOLD THE TRUTH
Connor requested another meeting.
This time, he did not ask for immunity.
He asked to speak to me.
Naomi advised me that I did not owe him anything.
She was right.
But I agreed because I wanted one answer.
Why had he watched?
Connor appeared on the video screen from his attorney’s office.
His face looked thinner.
His company had filed for bankruptcy.
His apartment lease had been terminated.
His car had been repossessed because the payments came from an account in my name.
The life I funded had disappeared.
“I am pleading guilty,” he said.
“To identity theft, attempted fraud, and submitting false statements.”
I waited.
He wiped his hands against his trousers.
“I kept telling myself you were fine.”
“You always had a good job.”
“You always figured things out.”
“Mom said helping me was your responsibility.”
“And you believed her?”
“I wanted to.”
His honesty was ugly.
But it was honest.
“What happened in the hospital?” I asked.
Connor looked away.
“When Mom grabbed the machine, I knew she might hit you.”
“Why didn’t you stop her?”
“Because I was afraid she would turn on me.”
The answer was exactly what I expected.
It still hurt.
“You allowed her to attack me so you could remain the favorite.”
He began crying.
“Yes.”
I did not comfort him.
I did not tell him he was forgiven.
Connor provided investigators with passwords to hidden accounts and cloud storage.
The files proved Evelyn had planned the scheme for months.
They also showed Richard had helped collect my signatures.
My father had photographed documents whenever I visited the house.
Connor revealed that Evelyn had planned to tell the court my head injury proved I was unstable.
Even the violence was going to become evidence against me.
Before the call ended, Connor leaned closer to the camera.
“Are you going to die?”
“I don’t know.”
His face crumpled.
“I never thought that could happen.”
“That was the problem,” I said.
“You never thought about what happened to me.”
The screen went dark.
I felt no satisfaction.
May you like
Only distance.
For the first time, Connor’s disaster did not become my emergency.
