Chapter 5 - Abraham Yates
Three days later, Dad finally told me the truth.
We sat in a private hospital room while Cooper slept beside my bed.
He had survived.
That mattered more than anything.
Dad poured coffee.
“My father owned two trucks.”
I waited.
“He died owing money on both.”
“So you really were a truck driver.”
“For eighteen years.”
“How did that become this?”
“Slowly.”
Dad sat across from me.
“I learned routes. Warehouses. Ports. Which businesses were honest. Which weren’t.”
“And the mafia?”
He looked at his coffee.
“I built relationships with dangerous people.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No.”
He met my eyes.
“I became one of them.”
I swallowed.
“Why hide it from me?”
“Because I wanted you to choose your own life.”
“You gave me companies.”
“Legitimate companies.”
“Worth millions.”
“You earned the right to run them.”
I shook my head.
“You made everyone believe you were broke.”
“Not broke.”
He smiled.
“Comfortably retired.”
“You drive a twenty-year-old pickup.”
“It still runs.”
“Dad.”
His smile disappeared.
“I didn’t want men marrying my daughter because they feared me.”
The words landed hard.
“Instead, I married Brandon.”
“Yes.”
“Great plan.”
“No.”
Dad sighed.
“Terrible plan.”
I laughed despite myself.
Then I became serious.
“You knew something was wrong with him.”
“I suspected.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Would you have listened?”
I thought about it.
“No.”
“That’s why.”
Victor entered with another folder.
“The prosecutor wants to speak with Emily.”
“About?”
“Brandon’s plea offer.”
I looked at him.
“He wants a deal?”
“He wants to testify against Melissa.”
I almost laughed.
“Of course he does.”
Victor handed me a tablet.
There was a message from Brandon’s attorney.
Brandon wanted to apologize.
Dad watched me.
“You don’t owe him a conversation.”
“I know.”
“Then don’t give him one because you think closure requires it.”
I stared at the screen.
“No.”
I handed it back.
“My closure is him hearing the judge.”
Victor nodded.
“Good answer.”
Dad looked at him.
“Don’t encourage her.”
Victor smiled.
“She sounds like you.”
“That’s what worries me.”
Over the next weeks, the case grew.
The recordings proved planning.
Financial records established motive.
Messages between Brandon and Melissa revealed months of preparation.
And the transfer documents proved exactly what they wanted.
Control.
Money.
My companies.
But one discovery shocked even Dad.
Victor came into my office six weeks later.
“You should see this.”
I was walking again with physical therapy support.
“What now?”
“Brandon had another plan.”
He placed a document on my desk.
Life insurance.
Ten million dollars.
Beneficiary: Brandon Hayes.
I stared at it.
“I never signed this.”
“Your signature was forged.”
Dad stood by the window.
His expression turned cold.
Victor continued.
“Investigators found emails discussing how your death would be presented as an accidental overdose.”
I felt strangely calm.
“They really intended to kill me.”
“Yes.”
Dad crossed the room.
“You don’t need to read the rest.”
I closed the folder.
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m done being protected from the truth.”
Dad studied me.
Then nodded.
“Fair enough.”
I looked at Victor.
“What happens now?”
“The attempted murder charge becomes much stronger.”
“And the guests?”
“Several accepted immunity agreements in exchange for testimony. Others may face charges depending on their involvement.”
I looked toward my father.
“Brandon thought nobody would talk.”
Dad shook his head.
“Cowards become very cooperative when consequences arrive.”
I smiled slightly.
“Is that a mafia proverb?”
“No.”
Victor answered from the doorway.
May you like
“It should be.”
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