It never once crossed their minds that I was the victim.
I didn't expect them to recognize what they'd done wrong. I certainly didn't expect any genuine remorse.
I simply nodded at Officer Dawson. "Fine. I'll go to the station with you now."
I grabbed my jacket from the table and headed straight for the door.
Savannah rushed over, her voice urgent. "Sweetheart, why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"What did those people do to you? Did they hurt you? Are you injured?"
I looked up at that hollow mask of concern and couldn't bring myself to waste a single word on her.
I wrenched my arm free of her grip.
"My business is none of your concern. Stay out of it."
Savannah's hand hung frozen in midair.
Amos finally found his voice, stammering as he spoke. "We... we didn't mean anything by it. Something like this happens to you, you should've told us right away."
"We would've protected you. We wouldn't have let anyone hurt you."
Protected me?
A laugh tore out of me before I could stop it, so sharp it nearly brought tears to my eyes.
That was the most insane joke I'd ever heard.
I stopped walking and turned to face them. "From the second you walked through that door, you questioned me. You hurled insults at me."
"You dumped every ounce of blame on my shoulders. Did either of you give me a single chance to explain?"
My words landed like a slap across both their faces.
Not that it mattered much to them, probably.
Amos had nothing to say. Savannah scrambled to smooth things over.
"Sweetheart, you're right. We were wrong. We were too impulsive."
"We'll go to the station too. Those criminals need to be brought to justice!"
I regarded them with flat indifference. Not a ripple of emotion.
I just wanted to see the looks on their faces when they found out the real mastermind was their precious baby girl.
What expression would that be, I wondered.
At the station, an officer told me to observe from outside the room.
Inside sat a man in handcuffs.
I recognized him instantly. It was him.
Those eyes, full of malice and sick amusement. I'd remember them until the day I died.
"Yes. He's one of the three."
Officer Dawson nodded and spoke quietly. "Good. We've got that on record."
"The interrogation is still ongoing. We're doing everything we can to track down the other two."
"As soon as we have new leads, you'll be the first to know."
I looked at her, then spoke up before she could walk away.
"One more thing. Those three were acting on someone else's orders."
"I have some idea who's behind it."
Savannah seized on this immediately. "Who? Don't be afraid, just say the name. Your father and I will make sure they pay!"
A cold laugh echoed inside my chest. The concern shining in her eyes was nothing but a cruel joke.
I turned back to the officer.
"Her name is Maureen Simmons. She's a classmate of mine at college."
