Chapter 20: FINDING ANSWERS
Abigail.
My stomach dropped. I didn’t want to believe the report but hearing emaw’s panicked voice only told
the reports were right all along. A lone tear streaked down my cheek and I wiped it off angrily.
"Why wouldn’t you tell ?" I demanded, clamping down the anger rising through my veins.
"What’s wrong?" Gramps’ voice bood in the background. "Marissa, what happened to Abigail?"
"She knows," emaw whispered, "She knows about Hugo and Isabella."
I pressed my palm against my mouth, trying to muffle the sob clawing up my throat. Annette’s hand gripped my shoulder.
"Why? Why did you tell
it was an accident? Why did you fucking lie to
for fifteen years?"
"Oh, llia," emaw sighed, her voice growing thick with tears. "We had to. We had to, baby."
Heat flared in my chest. "You had to let
think they died because Dad was speeding? I blad myself for surviving when they didn’t, emaw. I... God, I still can’t believe you would lie about your son’s death!"
"Because we would have lost you too!" she cried.
I blinked rapidly, eyes eting Annette’s who leaned closer to hear the conversation. "What?"
"Give
the phone, Marissa." Gramps grunted. "Abigail, darling, listen to . During the investigation, we received threats."
My breath hitched. "Threats?"
"Soone called the house," Gramps continued, "They left notes in the mailbox and told us if we kept pushing for answers, if we didn’t let the case die..." He paused. "They said we’d lose you too."
"Let
get this straight," I said bitterly. "They killed my parents then threatened to kill
too?"
"We had just lost Hugo and Isabella," emaw sobbed in the background. "We couldn’t... we couldn’t lose you too. I couldn’t survive it. That’s why we had to move."
"We had to stop the investigation to protect you," Gramps said quietly.
I bit back a dry laugh. Whoever had killed my parents had so nerve. Threatening to kill ? I gritted my teeth, clenching my hands into fists.
"We hated it." emaw sobbed. "We hated lying to you. Every ti you asked about the accident, every ti you had nightmares, every ti you blad yourself, it killed us. But what else could we do? How could we risk you..."
Her voice trailed into cries. Tears fell hotly down my cheeks and Annette pulled
against her side, her arm wrapping around .
They were trying to protect . Soone threatened to kill
if they investigated. They murdered my parents and got away with it.
Not anymore.
"I’m sorry," emaw whispered. "I’m so sorry, llia. Please forgive us."
"We did what we thought was right," Gramps added. "Maybe we were wrong. Maybe we should have fought harder, or- or found another way. But we couldn’t lose you, you were all we had left. You are all we have, darling."
My hand trembled against the phone. "I’m not mad at you."
I wasn’t. I was furious, but not at them.
No, whoever did this, whoever killed my parents and then threatened my grieving grandparents into silence, they thought they could get away with murdering my dad and mom?
Fuck. That.
"Abigail, no," emaw said as if she could read my mind. "Promise
you won’t go after this, Abigail. You can’t. Whoever did this, they’re dangerous. They’re still out there. You can’t go looking for them. Promise !"
It would be easy to lie to them and make that promise. But I couldn’t. Soone had sent
that box. Soone wanted
to know the truth. If I could find them, if I could get the police to reopen the investigation, if I could just-
"Abigail." Gramps called firmly. "Did you hear your grandmother? Promise us you’ll let this go."
Let it go?
Let the people who murdered my parents just... walk around free? I would rather chew glass.
"I..." I murmured hoarsely, "I’m sorry you both had to go through that. I love you."
"We love you too, baby," emaw whispered.
"So much," Gramps added. "Please be safe."
We stayed on the phone for another ten minutes. emaw apologizing over and over,
reassuring them I was okay even though I absolutely fucking wasn’t.
When I finally hung up, I sat there staring at the black screen.
Annette was quiet beside
for a long mont.
Then she sighed. "You’re going after them, aren’t you?"
"Soone sent
that box," I said quietly. "Soone knows what happened and wanted
to find out."
"Or soone’s fucking with you."
"Maybe." I wiped my face with the back of my hand. "But what if they’re not? What if whoever sent this has evidence or so sort of information, Annie? What if they can help
find who did this?"
Annette bit her lip. "Abby..."
"I have to try." My voice hardened. "I have to know who killed them. Why did they kill them? I have to make sure they pay for what they did."
"What if whoever threatened your grandparents cos after you?"
"Then they co after ." I t her eyes. "I’m not so nine-year-old anymore, Annie. I’m not going to hide."
She groaned. "I want to say, fuck yeah, let’s do this, but we’re not freaking Jas bond, Abby." Yet as she spoke, she sighed and grabbed her laptop. "Okay. Then let’s find out who sent the damn box."
It took Annette less than thirty minutes to get the address.
"Got it," she announced, spinning her laptop toward . "The package was sent from a PO box, but the paynt for that box traces back to an address on the outskirts of the city."
I leaned forward, reading the screen. "That’s like an hour away,"
"An hour and fifteen in traffic." Annette was already standing, grabbing her keys. "Co on."
"Wait, now?"
"Let’s just do this before I lose my courage," she grumbled.
Fair point, I thought with a dry smile and rose off the couch. When we arrived at the address an hour thirty minutes later, the door was wide open and what we saw had us shaking down to our toes.
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