“You fool. That’s nothing to me.”
Before Milo can take a breath, she slams the coke up against his nostrils. Milo has no choice but to inhale the drug, snorting it into his nasal passages as he takes a breath.
“You thought you could steal her from me, brother. Force me to step aside?” Milo’s grip tightens as he leans down and speaks into Milo’s ear. “But now you know. She’s always been mine. Each time you slipped your dick inside my girl, she thought of me. You raped her and forced her to bear your despicable kid. Now, you’ll pay, and you’ll go to Hell knowing I took everything from you.”
Muriel forces Milo to breathe in more of the cocaine. If he doesn’t have a heart attack, the overdose will kill him.
Beside me, Maria watches in horror as her father’s pupils constrict.
“Oh love, we’re not so cruel.” Muriel lowers the empty tray and removes her robe. “Your ride to Hell will be rapturous.”
Milo sags in the seat, huffing and sweating profusely as the drug kicks in. His brother steps around to the front of the chair, in perfect view of the camera.
“I want you to watch your wife, brother.” Marco snaps his fingers and points to the ground. His attention shifts to Maria’s mother. “On your knees, love.”
Muriel doesn’t hesitate. As she lowers down to her knees, she looks at Milo in disgust. “Watch how I obey him, my wretched husband. Watch how I willingly service a better man than you.” She kneels before Marco, a look of abject adoration on her face as she opens her mouth.
That’s enough. I don’t want Maria subjected to another second of this filth.
“Maria …” I place my hand on her arm. “Stop the tape.”
But Maria doesn’t stop the playback. Tears stream down her face while the tape plays on.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” Maria rocks back and forth, saying it over and over again as she watches her father’s face turn blue and his body go limp. “I’m so sorry.” Tears run down her face, and I fear they’ll continue to fall until she has no tears left.
45
MARIA
I watch every frame of the tape, forcing myself to listen to every spiteful word my mother says. I know she can be cruel, but this is beyond brutal. Every nuance in my mother’s voice strikes like a physical blow.
My mother poisoned my father. She killed him.
She overdosed him on cocaine until his heart gave out. While he dies from a heart attack, she gives my uncle a fucking blowjob?
A blowjob?
She’s psychotic. A sociopath. She terrifies me.
I don’t know the woman on the screen. That’s not the mother I know. I can’t imagine the depravity of such an act.
My uncle’s release comes while my father watches. Sweat beads on his brow and pain creases his forehead.
Watching my mother murder my father isn’t as big of a shock as I feel like it should be. Their relationship was always distant. My father doted on me, while my mother barely tolerated my presence.
I finally understand where her hatred stems from, and in some strange twist of fate, I find peace in that knowledge.
It isn’t me.
It was never me.
She hated me for something I couldn’t control. All my hopes for some small scrap of maternal love were in vain. Like any child, I wanted my mother’s love. Never having it made me feel defective.
But I’m not.
I’m not defective.
I never was.
“Give it back.” I reach for the video camera, but Liam pulls it away.
“Don’t.”
“Give it back.” My tone turns serious.
“You don’t need to torture yourself.” He grips the video camera. “Don’t you see what this means?”
“My mother is a monster? My uncle is too?”
The thing is, I already know this. I think I always have known it on some small level.
“It means we can put them away for murder. They documented their crime. We can put them away forever.”
“Give me the camera.” I flick my fingers, demanding.
He’s right and he’s only trying to protect me, but I need to watch it one more time. I feel like I need to witness my father’s last moments.
“I really don’t think—”
“I don’t care what you think.” I place my hand on his arm. “You’re amazing—beyond amazing—and I love that you want to protect me. I love everything about you, but I need to watch to the end.”
I need to see my father die and bear witness to this act.
“Ah, princess.” Liam cups my face and stares into my eyes. “You’re stronger than you know.” He hands me back the video camera.
I rewind the tape and watch the whole wretched scene again, listening to every nuance of my mother’s voice. She enjoyed it. She set the whole thing up. A lot of planning went into my father’s final moments.
Finally, I turn off the camera and eject the tape. Cradling it in my hands, I stare at it for what seems forever.
“What do we do now?” I turn the tape over and run my finger over the label on the front. “Do we turn it over to the police? Or will they just bury it, bought by my uncle to ensure things like this disappear?”
Liam takes the tape and tucks it into his inner coat pocket.
“We do what we must.”
An overhead drone catches my attention, but only because there’s a fluttering and a pneumatic whisper of a sound. One of those grappling hooks descends out of thin air, suspended by a fiber no larger than a strand of spider’s silk.
“I have a feeling a recording of that tape is already on its way to the right people.” Liam sees the drone and glances around the room.
They’re near invisible. We could be surrounded by the things and not know it.
“The cops?” I nibble on my lower lip. The Belvedere is a frequent off-duty hangout for the cops. I always thought that was cool, but I have a feeling there was far more to it than I knew. No doubt, Marco pads the pockets at all levels within the police department.
“More likely the FBI.” Liam fishes the cassette out of his jacket and places it on his palm. Like before, the tiny grappling hook grabs hold. Only this time, it doesn’t retract all the way. The tape is too large for the drone to carry in its tiny compartment. Instead, it flies back to the ventilation duct and disappears inside.
I breathe a little easier knowing that tape is on its way.
My mother is a murderer.
It’s going to take a minute to process.
I uncross my legs, and when I do, my foot kicks the box. One last tape falls out.
“What do you think is on this one?” My hand shakes as I insert the tape. I try to still my breathing, but it’s hard. I’m too keyed up to pretend whatever’s on that tape won’t come as a complete shock.
Liam rolls his wrist and his entire body goes on high alert. “We need to get going.”
“Wait, I want to see this.” I press the play button.
“They bypassed our team.” Liam jumps to his feet and bends down to help me. As he does, the first frame begins.
“What the ever-loving fuck?” I stare at an impossible image. My heart pounds as I cover my mouth.