“Claire—”
“You made this enemy,” I said.
The words were unfair.
They were also true.
His jaw worked. “I never imagined she would come for Ethan.”
“No one imagines monsters choosing children,” I whispered. “That’s why they do.”
Garrett pushed past the guard then. “Stop blaming him. Blame me.”
We both turned.
He looked ruined, unshaven, eyes red and sunken. “If I had answered the phone, if I had been here, if I hadn’t gone with Melissa—”
“You can’t resurrect him with guilt,” I said.
“I know.”
“Then what do you want?”
He took something from his pocket.
A small recorder.
Detective Klein immediately stepped forward. “Where did you get that?”
“Melissa’s purse,” Garrett said. “I found it in my car. I don’t know when she left it there.”
My father’s eyes narrowed. “You withheld evidence?”
“I didn’t know what it was until now.”
Detective Klein took it carefully and pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then Melissa’s voice, trembling.
“Vanessa, this has gone too far. The boy is sick. You said we were just ruining Garrett.”
Another voice answered.
Calm. Elegant. Deadly.
“William Sterling took my father from me. I am taking his legacy from him.”
Melissa sobbed. “He’s a child.”
“He’s a Sterling.”
My blood turned to ice.
Garrett staggered back like he had been shot.
