Page 106 of What the Wife Knew

“I’m repeating what Nick told me.” Elias finished his drink and eyed the coffeemaker as if he intended to make another cup and stay for a while. “The blood evidence collected at the murder scene belonged to Richmond only.”

The whole thing had an air of cover-up about it. Elias wasn’t the type and the detective seemed like a straight shooter. Too obsessed with me being the bad guy but not someone who would make up or hide evidence. That would mean my superior cleaning skills destroyed all the DNA on the bat and in the house, and that wasn’t believable either.

Nothing else came to me except for one thing. “I don’t want to owe Detective Sessions a favor.”

“Take that up with him.” Elias started to make another coffee. “That leaves the issue of Portia and Wyatt. What now? Do you leave and cut them off or do you stay and have a relationship with them?”

Yes. No. Who the hell knew? The possibilities swirled around in my head. I hadn’t landed on the clear winner yet. When it came to interacting with them—my newfound cousins, a fact that still left me reeling—the lines between too much time and not enough blurred. They’d remain hazy until all the criminal cases against Kathryn were resolved. Until then... “We’ll work it out eventually.”

“Hypothetically, you’re related.”

Weird but true. “No matter how hard I try to conquer it, I have a weakness for family.”

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Her

Present Day

My mom and I didn’t say a word to each other on the drive home from the hospital. The showdown would come in the house. My final goodbye.

I toyed with waiting a few more days for her to fully recuperate, but she didn’t look frail or in pain. Her expression remained guarded as she watched me drive the car up to the house and stop at the security gate. I punched in the code and the gate swung open.

She turned to face me. Her intense stare dared me to fight her.

“Are you going to mope all day?” she asked.

I put the car in park and let the engine idle. This argument demanded my full attention and my hands free. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I shot Kathryn for you. To rescue you.” Mom returned to looking out the front window. Her frown resembled that of a petulant child who heard she couldn’t have ice cream for dinner. “You should be grateful.”

The unexpected comment knocked the words right out of me.

“I saved you.” She emphasized each word.

If I assumed the role of aggressor she could, once again, slitheraway from any responsibility. The weight of her deceit and sick games would be lifted from her shoulders and piled onto mine. I would—in her mind and in every story she told about me going forward—be the one to blame for the demise of our relationship. Not her manipulation. Not the twisted plan to marry me off to my uncle. A fact that still made me heave. She would be absolved.

Fuck that.

I turned off the engine because this could take some time. “You lied to me my whole life.”

She sighed. “Are we doing this again?”

We were in it now and I refused to back down. “You did the unthinkable when you put me in Richmond’s firing line. He wanted me dead and all you cared about was killing the guy who stole your golden ticket all those years ago.”

“You don’t understand what I’ve done for you.”

“I know what you didtome.”

“Yes, of course. Poor little Addison.” Mom shook her head and continued to look out the front window, avoiding eye contact. “You’re not a child anymore, my darling. It’s time for you to step up and take responsibility. You’ve had it too easy.”

“How do you say stuff like that without laughing?” She acted like I was wasting her time by talking to her.

“I protected you from the truth because you were always so sensitive. I carried the burden alone.” Her voice grew louder and firmer the longer she sat there.

“What truth are we talking about? Your version of the truth tends to be a moving target.”

She faced me. Her expression spoke to her disapproval and absence of affection. “Kathryn was a whiny bitch in high school. Stuck-up. Thought she was better than everyone.”

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