Page 35 of Redemption

Chapter 28

“Who was it?”Miles looked up at me, his head on my lap. He didn’t have to explain what he was asking. I knew. “Help me to understand how you can possibly not feel guilty about what you did.”

I’d been waiting for this question ever since I confessed. I knew it would only be a matter of time before Miles asked me. My eyes focused on the wall across from me, and my mind went back to the day Casey came home from the hospital after my mom gave birth.

“When I was five, my sister Casey was born. I adored her and treated her like my own baby. My mother was like a ghost in our house. I didn’t understand why until I got a little older, but she was a mouse. A doorstop. Someone for my dad to bully and abuse. She spent most of her time locked away in her room. Which meant I practically raised Casey. We did everything together. I was the one who took her to soccer practice, piano recital, birthday parties. I was the one who kissed her skinned knees. She told me all her secrets. Shortly after she turned thirteen, I noticed a change in her. She became sullen, and her grades began to drop. She would wear the same clothes for days until I made her change then. But, she refused to tell me what was wrong. She would get angry and scream at me. Then, she’d run to her room and slam it closed, effectively shutting me out. Finally, I stopped asking because it only led to her continued silence and my frustration. Then, I went off to college.”

I paused in my recitation as I remembered how much Casey had cried when I left. Looking back, I should have realized her grief was more than just missing her older sister. Grief consumed her and almost swallowed her whole. She had become a shell of her former self. Someone I no longer recognized had replaced the laughing, goofy, little girl who always had a smile on her face.

“I came home a day early for break during my freshman year at college. The house seemed empty, which was unusual. I’d just shut the front door when I heard noises coming from upstairs. I followed them to Casey’s room. Even though I knew what I’d find, I couldn’t believe my eyes. If things hadn’t happened so quickly, I would have sworn I’d blacked out for a moment, because my vision darkened and a buzzing sounded in my ears. There, right in front of me, was some mother fucker raping my sister. My baby sister, Miles. That is why I have zero regrets about killing that piece of fucking shit.”

“I’m so sorry, Josephine. I can’t even imagine how horrifying that was for you.”

A self-deprecating laugh escaped before I could stop it. “The worst thing was that it wasn’t the first time. It had been going on long before I left for school, which was why Casey had changed so much. I thought it was just teenage hormones. She had been hiding it from me for almost a year. She was ashamed that she couldn’t stop it from happening. She was also protecting me. Our father threatened me if she told. So, she kept her mouth shut and endured violation after violation because she thought she needed to protect me. My only regret is that I didn’t see it happening sooner. I should have been the one protecting her.”

Miles sat up and drew me into his arms. It was actually nice to have someone to finally share the burden with. Certainly not the burden of guilt, but the burden that I hadn’t been able to help her sooner. I hated that I’d taken another human life. But, I would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant protecting Casey.

“Connor is your best friend, Miles. The person you probably care about most in this world. Killing Malcolm was the only answer if you wanted to protect Connor. Your guilt would be insurmountable if Malcolm had been the one to kill Connor. Protecting your best friend, your family, from death should never fill you with guilt. I’m not saying that taking a human life should leave you calloused. But the self-flagellation is unnecessary.”

Miles didn’t respond to my statement. Instead, we continued sitting in silence, although if I listened closely enough, I could almost hear the wheels spinning in his head.

“Can I ask you a question?”

I shrugged, unconcerned at this point about anything he might ask me. There were no secrets left to tell.

“You said you were eighteen when it happened. That’s awfully young. How did you cover it up? The death, I mean. You clearly didn’t go to prison for murder. My actions were ruled self-defense. What happened after it was over?”

“My father is a powerful man who makes things happen. Or not happen as the case may be. He returned home and cleaned up my mess, as he called it. I didn’t ask too many questions, but the body disappeared, and it was never mentioned again. Except for the one, and only, time my father threatened me. I’m sure he has evidence somewhere, but he’s never threatened to use it. He feels I’m indebted to him. It’s only a matter of time before he calls in his marker. Which is why I’ve been keeping a record of his crimes for years.”

Miles perked to attention at this. “Wait, what? Who’s your father, Josephine?”

Just thinking the man’s name had me clenching my fists in hatred. “Charles Santiago.”

Miles bolted upright, his expression one of horrified shock. “Are you fucking kidding me? Charles Santiago is your father? Holy shit, Josephine. He’s one of the most powerful men in Pinegrove. Why didn’t you ever tell me? We used to talk about everything, or so I thought.”

“My father disowned me after Connor stopped working for him, and he no longer had to pretend to be the dutiful father anymore. I had no desire to be associated with him any longer anyway. Not after what he’d done to Casey. So, when I was nineteen, I legally changed my last name to my mother’s maiden name. You never even realized I shied away from talking about my family. I wanted it that way.”

Miles sat in stunned silence, slowly processing everything he’d just heard. The wheels were turning, even if it wasn’t visible. Something I’d said must have clicked because his eyes narrowed, and his head tilted just the slightest. “What do you mean you’ve been keeping a record?”

I sighed in defeat. “I hacked into my dad’s servers years ago and have been monitoring his activities ever since. He had no idea. I see every email, hear every phone conversation through his webcam, and monitor who enters and exits his house and office. I have access to all his bank records. Everything.”

“Holy shit, Josie. Wait, what do you mean ‘had’ no idea? Are you telling me your father knows you have this information?”

I hesitated revealing this next piece of information, but it was time to ask for help. My father needed to be stopped. I’d been thinking for days about what to do with the information I’d just discovered.

“He may have recently found out.” That icky feeling settled in my belly. Remember getting sent to the principal’s office to get yelled at? Yeah, that one. I waited for the outburst. Instead, I got calm. Which, honestly, bothered me more than yelling. Calm bespoke of a more powerful emotion than anger.

“How did he find out, Josephine?”

Might as well get this over with. “Every week I check in on what’s been going on. Read emails, monitor money exchanges, among other things. I recently came across an encrypted email. I ran it through one of my programs to decipher it. The email was an exchange between my father and a person called Korol'. It talked of selling women. I was so horrified that he is planning on doing to other women what he did to Casey that I called and confronted him.”

Miles’ hands weaved through his hair in despair. “Jesus, Josie, this is a damn nightmare. You always seemed hesitant to talk about your family, and I didn’t want to push you. But wait, why would Connor work for someone like your dad? There have been rumblings going on for years about his criminal background, but nobody has been able to find anything to tie him to any crimes. On the outside, he has a squeaky clean reputation, but there have been whispers. Nothing loud enough to cause people to look too closely. There are even rumors he has the Mayor and Chief of Police in his pockets.”

“He does. Which is part of the reason I have to be extremely careful with what it is I’m doing. It’s going to have to go to the Federal level, because he has the local law enforcement bowing to him. He has something on everyone. He only truly began building his power while Connor worked for him. That’s why the assignment only lasted a few months. Connor, in good conscience, couldn’t work for someone like my dad. Plus, when Connor began taking government contracts, my dad wouldn’t have wanted him around, because then, Connor had Federal connections. Can’t have the hired help building a case to get you thrown in prison.”

My mouth was getting dry, so I got up from the bed and walked into the kitchen not caring I was naked. I’d just poured myself a glass of water when Miles joined me, wearing his boxer briefs. He perched on the edge of the bar stool and rested his elbows on the kitchen island.

“What do you mean you have to be careful with what you’re doing? What do you have up your sleeve, Josephine?”