"So you came," Silas said to Lawrence, his tone of voice, taunting. "I'm impressed. I didn't think you would be man enough to sit here face to face with me after blowing my cover. I didn't think you had the guts."
"What do I have to hide?" Lawrence replied coldly. "I have nothing to be afraid of and I had nothing to do with your identity being revealed. I thought you were dead. You'd already taken everything that was mine before you disappeared, letting everyone think you were dead, so why would I even give a second thought to you?"
Silas nodded slowly, seeming to gain respect for his nephew. "I didn't entirely have a choice about that."
"Oh, yes, you did."
"Ok, so taking your money was my choice, but letting everyone believe I was dead, wasn't. It was the only chance I had to survive. I did what I had to do and I don't regret it. There's only one thing in my life that I'm sorry about and that is that my sister lost her life because of me."
"What do you mean?" Lawrence asked. Silas' words had shocked him and his pulse was racing. "My mother died because of you? What did you have to do with it?"
"That's why I wanted to see you. I've had a lot of time to do some thinking about the past. I felt I owed you the truth on this one thing. You deserve to know the truth about your parents at least."
"What is the truth?" Lawrence asked, doubtful that Silas knew the meaning of the word.
"You know how I was when I was younger, don't you? I was the typical spoiled rich kid, plenty of money to spend and no responsibilities of any kind."
"And then you gambled it all away."
"I was young. I didn't think the money would end. There was always more. But then my parents died and my money ran out. My sister was good to me though. I knew I could always go to her when I needed some cash, that is until your father talked her into cutting me off. Without her help I couldn't pay back the debts from my gambling losses and my debtors came after me. Or they thought they were coming after me . . ."
"Lorna had lent me their car a couple times without her husband knowing and, well, the guys I owed money too must have seen me out in it and assumed it was mine. They'd threatened me before, but I was young and thought I was invincible. I didn't take them seriously. I thought nothing could happen to me . . . and it didn't, it happened to your parents.
"When the police investigated the car crash that killed them, they found the car had been tampered with. As soon as I heard that, I knew that accident had been meant for me. There was nothing I could do, but I did feel bad for Lorna. She was just trying to help me and that's the reason she died."
Lawrence sat in silence for a moment, trying to take it all in. "But that didn't make you change your ways, did it? Your only sister died because of you, but still you didn't try to change one bit."
"I tried at first, but I admit, I didn't try that hard. I still thought I was invincible. As cruel as it sounds the accident actually worked out for me. I got a lot of money when they died and paid off my debts, which got the mob off my back for awhile."
"You're disgusting and pathetic. I've heard enough," Lawrence said as he scooted back his chair.
"It's the truth. I thought you deserved to know."
"If you want to do me any favors, then don't contact me ever again. You've done enough to me to last a lifetime."
As Lawrence moved towards the door, Logan was torn. He felt like Silas was just getting to the most interesting part of his story. He didn't want Lawrence to end the meeting now, but he had promised Lawrence that he could end it at anytime and he was obviously ready to leave now. He turned to Silas. "I'd like to talk more about this with you."
Silas shrugged. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Mr. Arrendale," Logan called after Lawrence as they left the interrogation room. "Thanks for coming down here today and helping us out. I know that couldn't have been easy for you, but I think it has been a big help. Hopefully Silas will be more willing to cooperate now."
"Do you think that made a difference?"
"I really do."
"And what if he does cooperate? I hope he doesn't get off easy after all he's done."
"I can't promise you that he won't. But think of it this way, if it means stopping the people who did kill your parents from hurting anyone else, wouldn't it be worth it?"
Lawrence frowned. "I'm not sure it would be." He turned and left the police station. He had a lot to think about.
Lucy paced back and forth across the living room, trying to think of who else she could call. She didn't know anyone else who knew Justin at all, except for Mrs. Burgess, who was out of town staying with relatives and who was not someone Lucy wanted to talk with anyway. His apartment manager said he left no forwarding address, no hints about where he'd gone, and no word as to when he'd be back. It was like he'd disappeared without a trace. She desperately needed to talk with him right away.
She knew there had to be something else she could do, but she couldn't think. She'd already had too much on her mind before Craig came back. Now not only did she need to think about how to find Justin, she had to start thinking about divorce and custody battles. She didn't need this, not now. She just wanted to collapse on the couch and cry.
Before she had the chance to do anything, she heard Craig coming down the steps. She took the moment before he entered the room to compose herself. She didn't want him to see the emotion in her eyes.
"Lucy. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?" she asked, but when she saw what was in his hand she knew. "What are you doing with that?"
"I saw it when I went in the bathroom," he said holding up the positive test. "You're pregnant?"
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