‘Stop your wallowing and do something about it!’ Mom was missing the part of the heart that doled out empathy. ‘First things first, we need to get Candace out of the way. She’s no good for your brother. Then we need to sell your house and take care of your family. Use that money to start over. Help each other heal. Then, when you’re emotionally ready, you can move forward again. But like I said, Candace has got to go. By any means necessary. Do whatever it takes.’
‘Mom, you’re sounding an awful lot like you did when you talked about wanting Ben gone. And now he’s dead.’
I eyed her warily, the dark overture sobering me more than the coffee ever could. She stared into her cup. Avoidance. What wasn’t she telling me?
‘I just want you to get back to normal, and you can’t do that with a manipulative liar in your midst.’
I shook my head. ‘I can’t afford to piss her off. Lane blindly loves her, for better or for worse, and if I get on her bad side I’m afraid I’ll lose him. Plus, Candace knows too much. And I already told you I’m not selling my house. Not yet. Maybe not ever. What is your obsession with me selling it?’
‘I haven’t been totally honest with you.’ Mom raised her hands, as if surrendering the truth. ‘I’ve found myself in somewhat of a … financial predicament. I was hoping you would be willing to sell the house so that you could loan me a little money to pay off some bills.’
‘I would if I could, Mom, you know that. But it’s too risky for me to try to sell the house anyway. What if they seize my earnings on top of everything else? Then I would be left with nothing. Literally. They haven’t unfrozen my bank accounts yet. And it might be months before I get my insurance payout. Have you asked Lane?’
‘He’s already given me so much. I hate to even admit this, but things with my real estate work have been slow. And as you found out during my interrogation, Ben scammed me out of every dime of my retirement money.’
‘I still can’t believe Ben would take his own family’s money.’ Incoherent words tore through my throat. ‘Detective Meltzer told me he had a secret bank account set up in another name. I’m assuming it was for Medea. How did I not see this side of Ben?’
‘As sure as he’s dead, the man was pure evil. The lies he spilled came so naturally, too. He offered me this great business opportunity to double my investment return. Why wouldn’t I trust my own son-in-law? So, of course, I invested. I lost everything, Harp. Every. Last. Penny. For the past six months I’ve been working two jobs, fourteen-hour days, and I still can’t make ends meet. No one wants to hire an elderly real estate agent when all these fresh faces around here offer the moon and the stars.’
She took a shaky breath, wiping the wet corners of her eyes.
‘This is embarrassing for me, but I’m burned out, honey. I need a break. I really thought your insurance money would come through, or at least that you’d have access to your bank accounts by now.’
‘I’m so sorry, Mom. I had no idea you were struggling for that long. Why didn’t you say something sooner?’
‘Oh, honey, I didn’t want to start trouble with you and Ben after he screwed me over. The lies … That man ruined me. And to be honest, I wanted him dead. But I couldn’t go saying that to you, now could I? And since then it’s all been pretense, my dear. I didn’t want to worry you and Lane, but I can’t hide it anymore. I’m looking at foreclosure if I don’t catch up on my payments.’
‘I know Lane’s got extra money. And I’ll be employed soon and can help out. We’ll be happy to help get your bills caught up.’ I couldn’t speak for Candace on the matter … well, I actually could. I knew she’d put her foot down, but I hoped Lane still had enough of his balls intact to stand up to her for the sake of our mother, who had sacrificed so much for us when we were growing up. ‘And as soon as I have access to my bank account again, I’ll pay him back and get you on your feet.’
‘No, I can’t ask your brother again. I already mentioned it to him, and Candace shut it down. She said they need the money for the doctor bills and baby stuff. I’m not going to push it. I’ll figure something out.’
‘I’ll take care of it. Don’t you worry.’
And I would. Even if I had to drag Candace down kicking and screaming, I was not going to let my mother suffer any longer. Hadn’t she suffered enough? I just hoped she hadn’t done something to deserve it. Our sins did have a way of coming back to bite us.
‘Mom, I have to ask you something. And I need you to be honest with me.’
Her brown eyes flicked upward, earnest but guilty. The look lasted so long it rattled me, forcing me to glance away.
‘Did you kill Ben because you found out he lost all of your money?’ I searched her face for any sign of truth.
Her gaze hardened. ‘Did you kill Ben because you found out he was cheating on you?’
Though we both swore our innocence, every cell in my body lit on fire with a knowing that my mother was capable of a lot more than she would ever admit to. Like mother, like daughter, after all.
Chapter 30
Harper
My newborn baby was warm and light in my arms, her chubby flesh
