Chapter 4 - The House of Cards CollapsesBy 2:00 a.m., the party was over, but the nightmare for my parents had just begun.
The estate was flooded with police vehicles. My father was escorted out in handcuffs, charged with insurance fraud, arson, and child endangerment. My mother sat on a white lounge chair, her expensive makeup ruined by tears, being questioned by federal investigators.
I sat in the quiet of my grandmother's old study, wrapped in a warm blanket. Richard Vance stood by the window, looking out at the flashing red and blue lights.
"You were very brave tonight, Nora," Richard said quietly. "Your grandmother would have been incredibly proud of you. She always knew your parents were corrupt, but she didn't have the proof to bypass your father's legal defenses."
"I didn't do it for the money, Richard," I said, my voice tired but firm. "I did it because they made me feel like a monster for ten years to protect their own guilt. They made me hide my body so people wouldn't ask questions about the fire."
The door opened, and Lila stepped in. She looked small, stripped of her crown, her sash, and her arrogance.
"Nora..." she whispered, her eyes red. "Are they... are they going to take everything?"
"They are taking what was never theirs to begin with," I replied. "You knew, didn't you? You knew Dad set that fire."
May you like
Lila looked down, her silence confirming my deepest, most painful suspicion. "He told me... he told me if I said anything, we would lose the house. We would be poor. I was just a kid, Nora. I was scared."
"So was I," I said softly. "But I didn't let you burn."
Related Stories
