Page 64 of Ruthless Regret

Ashley is so much stronger than I anticipated, and stubborn as all fuck. I have no doubt she still believes I’m looking for revenge, intent on making her break. But I know now that while her testimony played a large part in putting me away, it wasn’t actually her fault. She was molded, guided, convinced into thinking a certain way … used to achieve an outcome.

What I need now is her cooperation. She has to see why this matters, why coming back with me is the best way to get answers. But if I push too hard, she’ll dig her heels in and say ‘fuck you,’ no matter how much it makes sense.

Patience. That’s what this requires. It’s what I should have been in the first place. But, instead of taking my time once I was released, I charged forward, without considering how the world outside of prison works.

Icanbe patient. I’ve been patient for fourteen years. Holding back, waiting for the right moment. But the second I stepped outside those prison walls, my only thought was payback. I let it consume me, and because of it, I fucked up.

Cooperation and patience. That’s the only way forward now. I’ve burned through every other option.

Peter’s voice pulls me back to the present.

“You never told me that your mom spoke to someone.”

I glance over at him. “I only found out yesterday.”

“And you didn’t think it was something your lawyer should know?”

“No? It’s not like you need to use it as part of your argument to get me freed.”

“Maybe we need to find somewhere and talk about what else you might know that you haven’t told me.”

“Worried you might need to represent me again?”

“Worried you might get yourself killed.” Peter, ever the lawyer. Methodical, focused, preparing for the next potential problem.

He’s been the one stable, constant in my life for the past couple of years, as he fought to get my case heard. I owe him everything.

“Find somewhere quiet and I’ll tell you everything I’ve discovered.”

He reaches for the screen on the dashboard, and taps around. “There’s a private office I can book a few blocks from here. Quiet, out of the way.”

I nod, and within minutes, we’re heading toward a coworking space he’s used before. It’s discreet, private, the kind of place we can talk without being disturbed or overheard.

Once we’re inside and settled, Peter goes out to the main reception and brings back drinks, then takes a seat opposite me.

“So, tell me what you’ve found.”

I don’t waste any time, detailing everything I’d discovered in the files Knight sent me. It takes me a while, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten things, but when I finally stop talking, Peter leans back on his seat.

“Firstly, I’m not going to ask where you got all that information from. You’ve raised things that weren’t in anything I had access to. The partial print concerns me. That wasn’t in any forensic report I had. Ashley being interviewed without an adult present as a minor wasn’t allowed to be used in court, so I couldn’t use that argument in my case to get you freed. But it’s interesting that she doesn’t remember it. She was convinced she was doing the right thing. But people can be talked into believing a lot of things that aren’t true.”

I grunt in response. Ashley wasn’t lying—at least, not intentionally. That much is clear. But the question I have iswhat happened between those two interviews, what pushed her to say what she did? Who got to her, how, and why doesn’t she remember?

“If she does manage to remember something, it’s not going to change anything. You still spent fourteen years in prison. At best it’ll give you answers. At worst, it’ll leave you with more questions.” Peter continues. “But you have to be ready for the very real possibility that she might not remember anything at all.”

“She’ll remember.”

“But—”

“I can’t afford to think she won’t. Ineedher to remember.”

He stares at me for a second, then nods. “Okay. Then let’s focus on this mysterious man your mom met. Tell me more about that.”

“There isn’t much to tell. He came by asking questions. She thought he was a journalist.”

Peter frowns. “A journalist?”

“That’s what she said. He asked about me, Jason, and Louisa. Hinted that maybe Louisa was seeing someone else.”

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