Chapter 14 - Richard’s Last Game
Lily laughed when Evelyn told her.
It was not a happy laugh.
It was sharp, disbelieving, and older than she had been two days ago.
“He wants to see me.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Through glass. Recorded. Guarded. You do not have to agree.”
Arthur stood at the foot of her bed, already against it in every line of his body.
“No.”
Lily looked at him.
He corrected himself.
“I don’t want you near him.”
“That’s different.”
“Yes.”
Lily appreciated the effort, even through exhaustion.
Her bruises had darkened. Her ribs were wrapped. Doctors had confirmed the pregnancy was still viable, though stress and trauma made monitoring necessary. Every good piece of news felt temporary, like a candle outdoors.
Lily placed one hand on her stomach.
“What recording?”
Evelyn said, “He claims Grace made another one the night she died.”
Arthur’s face changed.
Lily saw it.
That was why Richard had asked for her.
Not because he had information.
Because he still knew where to cut.
Lily leaned back against the pillows.
“He’s lying.”
“Probably,” Evelyn said.
“But maybe not.”
“Yes.”
Arthur shook his head.
“He wants control.”
Lily looked at him.
“He had control because I didn’t know the rules. Now I do.”
Arthur’s heart twisted.
“No one should have to learn rules like that.”
“But I did.”
The room fell quiet.
Finally Lily said, “I’ll see him.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
Evelyn asked, “Are you sure?”
“No,” Lily said. “But I’m doing it anyway.”
The meeting took place in a federal detention facility forty miles away.
Lily wore no makeup. She chose a plain sweater and loose pants. She wanted Richard to see what he had done, not what she could hide.
Arthur rode with her but waited outside the interview area. That was Lily’s condition.
“I need to know I can face him without you in the room,” she said.
Arthur hated it.
But he nodded.
Evelyn stayed beside Lily, along with two agents and a victim advocate. Richard sat behind thick glass in a gray detention uniform.
No suit.
No cufflinks.
No watch.
Without wealth on his body, he looked less impressive. Still handsome, yes. But smaller. Angrier. Like a spoiled boy forced to wear consequences.
When Lily entered, he smiled.
“There’s my wife.”
Lily sat down.
“My name is Lily Miller.”
His smile thinned.
“Legally, it’s Whitmore.”
“For now.”
Richard leaned closer to the glass.
“You look tired.”
“You look arrested.”
Evelyn glanced down to hide the smallest smile.
Richard’s eyes flashed.
Then he softened his face.
“Lily, this has gotten out of control.”
She stared at him.
He placed one hand against the glass.
“I know you’re hurt. I know you think I’m the enemy. But your father and that woman are using you.”
Lily tilted her head.
“Director Cross?”
“She’s dangerous.”
“You hit me.”
Richard sighed.
“Marriage is complicated.”
“You strangled me while I was pregnant.”
His expression tightened.
“Keep your voice down.”
There he was.
Not sorry.
Embarrassed.
Even behind glass, even in custody, Richard still cared more about presentation than truth.
Lily smiled sadly.
“You still think I’m in your house.”
Richard’s jaw flexed.
“I know things you don’t.”
“You always said that when you wanted me afraid.”
“I know where your mother’s final message is.”
Lily’s breath caught despite herself.
Richard saw it and smiled.
Finally, his game found skin.
“Tell me.”
He leaned back.
“I need something first.”
Evelyn spoke. “You are not negotiating with the victim.”
Richard ignored her.
“I want Lily to hear this. Not you. Not Arthur. Lily.”
Lily’s voice stayed calm.
“What do you want?”
Richard’s eyes returned to hers.
“A public statement.”
Evelyn said, “No.”
Richard continued as if she had not spoken.
“Say you were overwhelmed. Say things were misunderstood. Say your father escalated everything because of old trauma. You don’t have to say I’m innocent. Just create doubt.”
Lily stared at him.
For years, he had trained her to read the room through his moods. She knew when his anger was rising. She knew when a smile meant punishment later. She knew the exact second charm became threat.
Now she saw something new.
Desperation.
Richard needed doubt.
Not innocence.
Doubt.
Because doubt was where men like him lived.
Lily leaned toward the glass.
“Do you know why my mother terrified your family?”
Richard’s smile faded.
“Careful.”
“Because she made copies.”
His eyes sharpened.
“She was lucky.”
“No,” Lily said. “She was smart.”
Richard’s face darkened.
Lily continued, “And you married her daughter thinking grief made me weak.”
“You were weak.”
Evelyn’s gaze snapped up.
Richard smiled, cruel now.
“You were so easy, Lily. A few flowers. A few stories about how lonely you were. I knew exactly what to say because your mother left such detailed notes.”
Lily went pale.
But she did not look away.
Richard pressed on.
“She wrote about your nightmares. Your songs. How you cried when Arthur traveled. I knew you before I met you.”
The victim advocate whispered, “We can stop.”
Lily lifted one hand.
No.
Richard enjoyed himself now.
“You wanted a family. That was your wound. I simply stepped into it.”
Lily’s eyes filled, but her voice did not break.
“And still you lost.”
Richard slammed his hand against the glass.
The sound cracked through the room.
Agents stepped forward.
Richard shouted, “I haven’t lost anything!”
Lily stood.
“Yes, you have.”
He breathed hard.
“You walk out that door, you’ll never find the recording.”
Lily looked down at him.
“Then keep it.”
Richard froze.
She continued, “I already heard my mother tell me she loved me. I already know she fought. I already know your family killed her because they were afraid of truth. Whatever recording you have is not worth giving you one more inch of my life.”
Richard’s expression faltered.
That was the one move he had not expected.
A woman refusing the bait.
Lily stepped closer to the glass.
“You used my mother’s death to trap me. You used my love to hurt me. You used my silence to protect yourself. But you don’t get to use my grief anymore.”
Richard’s mouth opened.
Nothing came.
Lily turned to leave.
Then Richard panicked.
“Wait.”
She stopped but did not turn.
Richard’s voice dropped.
“Angel Point wasn’t the only place.”
Evelyn’s eyes sharpened.
Lily slowly faced him.
Richard swallowed.
“My grandfather kept the oldest files somewhere Margaret never controlled.”
“Where?”
Richard smiled again, but weakly now.
“At the church.”
Lily stared.
“First Grace?”
Richard leaned back.
“Ask Pastor Vale what’s under the baptismal floor.”
Evelyn signaled to an agent immediately.
Richard watched Lily, trying to reclaim victory.
“You still need me.”
Lily shook her head.
“No, Richard.”
She looked at him one last time.
“You just proved we don’t.”
Then she walked out.
Arthur stood when she entered the hallway.
He looked at her face, searching for damage.
There was damage.
But there was also freedom.
Lily walked straight into his arms.
“He told me where to look,” she whispered.
Arthur held her carefully.
Evelyn emerged behind her, already on the phone.
Arthur asked, “Where?”
Evelyn’s voice was grim.
“First Grace Church.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
The pastor at Richard’s press conference.
The man who preached forgiveness beside Margaret’s lies.
The man who had stood behind an abuser and called it family healing.
Arthur looked down the hallway toward the locked room where Richard sat alone.
Then back at Lily.
“Your mother said look for the women,” he said.
May you like
Lily nodded.
“And churches are full of women who were told to forgive.”
