Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
“You must care about protecting the children who live on that property,” Abigail says, desperation roughening her tone. “You have to help me.”
“It’s not about whether or not I care. This is about the law, and my realistic assessment is that this will go nowhere if you try to press charges.” Her voice deepens with compassion, but her firm countenance doesn’t waver. “You’ll put yourself through hell for nothing, and he will win.”
Abigail wilts beside me, and I wrap my arm around her shoulders.
“Get out,” I bark at the useless officer.
If she doesn’t leave right now, I won’t be able to restrain my cruelest impulses. The woman has hurt my wife with her callousness, and it’s all I can do to remain by her side instead of forcing the officer to give her the justice she deserves.
“I really am sorry,” Officer Johnson says.
Then she’s gone, and Abigail sags against me. She buries her face in her hands, pressing her palms to her eyes as though forcibly containing her tears.
“It’s all right.” I soothe her. “You can cry.”
“I’m sick of crying.” Her hands drop away, and her eyes shine with a vicious light, not tears. “I won’t let him get away with this.”
I won’t suggest my murderous plans again. Yet.
“I’ll call a lawyer today,” I promise. “We can start putting a civil case together.”
“But that won’t send him to jail.” She shakes her head. “It’s not good enough. They might seal the record. There could be a gag order. And you heard Officer Johnson. I don’t have enough concrete evidence to move forward.”
I rub her back. “We’re not giving up.”
Her eyes flash. “Take out your phone. I need you to record something for me.”
“What are you planning?” Whatever it is, she has my complete support.
My phone is already in my hand, and she’s retrieved her own phone from her pocket.
“I’m going to call my mother.”
Those remarkable eyes focus on me. They glow with a fierce light, like a vengeful goddess seeking retribution.
“I’ve never told you this, but my ancestor was Andrew Zillman. My mother and uncle are his last living descendants. Well, other than me, but I’m not part of that family anymore. I want nothing to do with them after today.”
I search my mind. The name is vaguely familiar. “Zillman?”
Her nostrils flare with righteous anger. “Yes, one of the infamous American robber barons. My mother always prefers to call him a captain of industry. But he built his fortune on other’s misery, and he left a rotten legacy behind.”
She waves a hand, directing us back to the present. “The family name is recognizable. There will be a certain level of local interest in a scandal, at the very least.”
“So, you intend to cause one?”
She gives me a savage nod. “I’m going to record my mother’s confession, and then I’ll leak it to the press. They will be ruined. Uncle Jeffrey will face intense public scrutiny for the rest of his life. He won’t dare harm another child.”
It’s similar to how I threatened my parents with ruin, but Abigail’s family doesn’t deserve the option of a reprieve. There will be no posturing about going to the press. She will destroy them without warning.
I press a kiss to her forehead. “My clever, ruthless queen.”
She looks deep into my soul and says, “I love you. Thank you for letting me handle this my way.”
I tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “You’re handling it far better than I would have. If I had my way, he would’ve died too quickly. You’re ensuring a lifetime of pain. It’s still less than he deserves, but he will suffer.”
She nods. “I’ll need you to record the entire call, but we’ll cut out anything that suggests that my mom was also abused. It’s not right for me to tell what happened to her, but I can take control of my own story.”
“Whatever you need, Abigail,” I reassure her.
She finds her mother’s contact details and connects the call.
“Abby.” The greeting is frosty. “What do you want now?”
“I want you to tell me the same thing you told me on the beach yesterday. I want confirmation of how you failed to protect your own daughter from a sexual predator.”
As she exacts her vengeance, my muscles flex with the need to throttle someone. My own mother is a piece of work, but even she hasn’t done something so heinous.
“You’re being dramatic,” her mom replies tersely. “You’re an adult now, Abby. Grow up.”
“I wasn’t an adult when you left me alone with Uncle Jeffrey,” she seethes. “You knew he was capable of molesting me, and you let him babysit me anyway. You knew that he had a history of abusing children.”
Her voice hitches on the last. I can’t even imagine the pain of her mother’s betrayal.
The woman is a monster.