Chapter 12 - Caleb Breaks
Caleb lasted four hours without my mother.
Four hours in a gray interview room with a paper cup of water, a public defender, and the knowledge that Vivian Alden could not reach through the walls to tell him who to be.
Elena let me watch from behind the glass.
I didn’t want to.
I needed to.
Caleb sat hunched forward, elbows on knees, staring at his own hands as if they belonged to someone who had done terrible things without permission.
The investigator placed Emily’s letters on the table.
Not all of them.
Just three.
The one where she wrote about the baby kicking.
The one where she said Caleb had mentioned page four.
The one where she wrote:
I think Caleb wants to help me, but he is still more afraid of disappointing Vivian than he is afraid of becoming her.
Caleb read that line and folded.
He covered his face.
“I didn’t know she wrote that.”
The investigator said nothing.
Silence opened the door.
Caleb walked through.
“Mom said Emily was trying to destroy the family. She said Daniel would come home and hate us if Emily poisoned him against us. She said Emily wanted to take the baby away and cut us out.”
“Did you believe that?”
Caleb wiped his face.
“I wanted to.”
That answer was the first honest thing I had heard from him.
“Why?”
“Because if Emily was the problem, then I wasn’t a coward.”
Behind the glass, I closed my eyes.
Caleb continued.
“I helped Mom access Emily’s email. I told myself Daniel was busy. I told myself the letters would upset him. Then Emily found the trust documents.”
“What documents?”
“The Alden Family Trust transfers voting control to Daniel’s firstborn child eventually. Until that child turns twenty-five, Daniel controls it unless he is declared unfit. If Daniel is unavailable or incapacitated, guardianship can influence control.”
“So Vivian needed Daniel declared unfit.”
“Yes.”
“And Emily declared unstable.”
“Yes.”
“And the child under Vivian’s guardianship.”
Caleb nodded.
The investigator slid a photo across the table.
Dr. Hollis.
“Tell us about the night Emily died.”
Caleb began shaking.
“She went into labor early. Or I thought she did. She was in pain after dinner. Mom said it was normal. Emily wanted the hospital. She kept asking for Daniel. Mom said Daniel had ignored every chance to come home, which wasn’t true.”
My vision blurred.
“Emily tried to call 911. Mom took the phone. Dr. Hollis arrived around midnight. He gave her something to calm her.”
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Emily consent?”
“No.”
The investigator’s voice remained steady. “Then what?”
“She got worse. She was sweating, saying she couldn’t breathe. Hollis said we needed to transfer. Mom said no hospital. No records. She said if Emily arrived accusing us, everything would be ruined.”
“Who was present when Emily died?”
Caleb looked up.
“Mom. Hollis. Me. Nora came in once and Mom threw her out. Mrs. Kline took the baby after he was born.”
The investigator paused.
“Emily died after delivery?”
Caleb swallowed.
“No.”
Behind the glass, the room vanished.
The investigator leaned in.
“Say that clearly.”
Caleb sobbed.
“Emily was still alive after the baby came. Weak, but alive. She kept asking to hold him. Mom wouldn’t let her.”
My hand struck the glass before I realized I had moved.
Elena caught my arm.
Inside, Caleb heard the sound and looked toward the mirror.
“I’m sorry,” he cried. “Daniel, I’m sorry.”
I could barely breathe.
The investigator pressed on.
“What happened to Emily?”
Caleb’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Then he whispered, “She grabbed Mom’s necklace. There was a key on it. Emily ripped it off and held it in her fist. She said, ‘Daniel will find it.’ Mom tried to pry her hand open.”
“The crescent cuts,” Elena murmured beside me.
“Mom couldn’t get it,” Caleb said. “Emily wouldn’t let go. Hollis said she was crashing. Mom told him to finish it.”
The investigator went very still.
“Finish what?”
Caleb looked down at his hands.
“The injection.”
Elena’s grip on my arm tightened.
May you like
On the other side of the glass, my brother finally said the sentence that ended my old life forever.
“My mother ordered Dr. Hollis to kill Emily.”
