Chapter 11 - GIDEON'S CONFESSION
I agreed to meet Gideon once.
Not alone.
Evelyn sat beside me.
A prosecutor sat across from us.
Gideon entered wearing jail clothes.
He looked smaller.
Older.
For a second, I remembered the man I'd married.
The man who had held Roger when he was born.
The man who had danced with me in our kitchen.
Then I remembered my son on the floor.
And the memory disappeared.
Gideon sat.
“Bernice.”
I said nothing.
He looked at me.
“I know you hate me.”
“I don't hate you.”
He seemed surprised.
“I don't have enough energy left for that.”
He looked down.
“I made mistakes.”
“Don't call them mistakes.”
He swallowed.
“I betrayed you.”
“Yes.”
“I lied.”
“Yes.”
“I hurt Roger.”
“Yes.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I never wanted him hurt.”
“But you knew.”
“Yes.”
That was the first honest answer he'd given me.
The prosecutor leaned forward.
“Tell us everything.”
Gideon nodded.
He explained the scheme.
Richard Blackwood had approached him two years earlier.
He knew about the trust.
He offered Gideon money.
A lot of money.
At first, Gideon refused.
Then he began taking small payments.
Then larger ones.
By the time he realized how dangerous Blackwood was, he was trapped.
Marcus became his handler.
The affair with Celina began as part of the plan.
Gideon wanted me distracted.
He wanted me working nights.
He wanted my sister to provide information.
But then he developed feelings for her.
Celina had become emotionally attached too.
The affair stopped being strategic.
It became real.
But the financial scheme continued.
“Why Roger?” I asked.
Gideon looked ashamed.
“Because he was the easiest way to control you.”
I stared at him.
“You used our son.”
“Yes.”
“You made him afraid.”
“Yes.”
“You made him believe I would leave him.”
Gideon's eyes filled.
“Yes.”
I leaned back.
There was nothing left to say.
The prosecutor asked:
“Who ordered the property transfer?”
“Blackwood.”
“Who forged the medical records?”
“Dr. Mercer.”
“Who monitored Bernice?”
“Victor.”
“Who accessed her bank accounts?”
“Marcus.”
“Who planned the final step?”
Gideon hesitated.
“Me.”
The room went silent.
“What final step?”
Gideon looked at me.
“They wanted Bernice arrested.”
“For fraud?”
“Yes.”
“And after that?”
He lowered his eyes.
“An accident.”
My heart stopped.
“What accident?”
“Car accident.”
I stared at him.
“Who?”
“Victor was supposed to arrange it.”
I couldn't breathe.
Evelyn reached for my hand.
The prosecutor asked:
“When?”
“After the property transfer.”
“How soon?”
“Within forty-eight hours.”
I felt cold all over.
The plan hadn't ended when I left the house.
It had only changed.
They had intended to kill me after stealing everything.
The prosecutor asked one final question.
“Why did you cooperate now?”
Gideon looked at me.
“Because I saw Roger.”
My throat tightened.
“On the camera?”
“No.”
He looked down.
“I saw him the night you left.”
“Then why didn't you stop him?”
“I don't know.”
That answer was worse than anything else.
“You knew what you were doing.”
“Yes.”
“And you still did it.”
“Yes.”
I stood.
Gideon looked up.
“I am sorry.”
I shook my head.
“You're sorry because you got caught.”
“No.”
“You're sorry because your plan failed.”
He began crying.
Maybe he meant it.
Maybe he didn't.
It didn't matter anymore.
I walked out.
Outside the building, I took a deep breath.
The sky was bright.
People were walking past.
Cars moved through the street.
Life was continuing.
And for the first time, I realized something.
I didn't need Gideon to confess that he was a monster.
I already knew what he had done.
May you like
I only needed the truth to protect my son.
Now I had it.
