Chapter 5 - The Snake's Nest
At 9:45 PM, I parked my car down the street from my parents' house.
I was wearing a wire.
I had spent the last three hours setting up a recording app on my phone, hidden in my breast pocket, transmitting the audio directly to a secure cloud server that Sarah had access to. If anything happened to me, the evidence would be saved instantly.
The house was completely dark except for a single light on in the kitchen.
I walked up the porch, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm. I opened the door. It was unlocked.
I stepped into the kitchen.
My mother was sitting at the island, a glass of red wine in her hand. Lauren was leaning against the counter, her arms crossed, looking at me with pure, unadulterated hatred.
"You're late," my mother said, taking a slow sip of her wine.
"Where is Dad?" I asked, looking around the quiet house.
"Richard is sleeping," my mother said. "I gave him some of his medication. He won't be waking up until tomorrow morning."
A chill ran down my spine. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing," my mother sneered. "He's just an old man who doesn't need to be stressed by your dramatic nonsense. Sit down, Erin."
I remained standing. "I know about the 2001 lawsuit, Mom. I know Ray paid the settlement."
Lauren let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Oh, she thinks she's a detective. Tell her, Mom. Tell her how the world actually works."
My mother set her wine glass down with a soft clink. "Ray didn't pay that settlement, Erin. We did. Ray was just the conduit. His father was a corrupt state senator. He had access to campaign funds that needed to be cleaned. I helped him clean them. In exchange, he saved your father's career."
"You laundered campaign money?" I whispered, disgusted.
"I saved this family!" my mother hissed, slamming her hand on the counter. "Your father would have gone to prison! We would have lost everything! I did what I had to do. And when Ray got older and married Lauren, we kept the partnership going. He was a brilliant businessman, but he was reckless. He got into debt. So, we created the trust. We hid his assets from the bankruptcy courts. And when the car crash happened in Mexico..."
"You faked his death," I said.
"Ray was supposed to stay dead," Lauren snapped, taking a step toward me. "But he's an idiot. He couldn't keep his head down. He started demanding more money. And then your stupid, blind brat had to go and look at my phone!"
"Don't you dare talk about Grace," I warned, my voice shaking with rage.
"She's a liability!" Lauren yelled. "Just like you! You think you're so righteous, Erin? You're nothing. If I go down, I'm taking you with me. I'll tell the police you were in on it. I'll tell them you helped us forge the medical documents from Mexico!"
"I am a doctor," I said, my voice steadying. "I have no connection to your fraud. And I have the proof. I have the photos of what you did to Grace. I have the forensic accounting of the trust."
"You don't have anything," my mother said, smiling coldly. She stood up, walking toward me. "Because nobody is going to believe a word you say. By tomorrow morning, the hospital is going to find a stash of illegal narcotics in your locker. Your medical license will be suspended. You'll be a disgraced, unemployed single mother with a disabled child. Who do you think the courts will give custody of Grace to then?"
My blood ran cold. "You wouldn't."
"Try me," my mother whispered, her face inches from mine. "We've already set it up. Lauren has a friend in hospital security. The cameras will 'glitch' when the drugs are placed. You have twenty-four hours to sign an NDA, drop the police report, and agree to never speak of this again."
I stared at my mother, looking at the woman who had raised me. She wasn't a mother. She was a monster.
And then, the front door rattled.
May you like
The lock clicked, and the heavy oak door swung open.
Standing in the entryway, holding a heavy manila folder and looking pale as a ghost, was my father.
