Chapter 14 - WHERE MY FATHER WAS
I hated myself for asking.
"Where were you the week before my crash?"
Dad's expression did not change.
"Germany."
"Doing what?"
"Consulting for a government training program."
"Can you prove it?"
"Yes."
Within an hour, Evelyn had travel records, hotel records, and documentation from the program office confirming Dad had been in Europe.
Julian's accusation collapsed before dinner.
I had doubted Dad because Julian had trained me to doubt my own safe people.
Dad did not demand an apology.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Verify. That's what you're supposed to do now."
"You really are a terrible person to argue with."
"Occupational defect."
Three days later, the criminal trial began.
I described the crash.
The hospital.
The forged signatures.
The insurance paperwork I signed without reading because I trusted my husband.
Julian's attorney asked whether our marriage had problems.
"Yes."
"Did you resent your husband?"
"Sometimes."
"Did you ever tell a friend you wished you could start over?"
"Yes."
"So you wanted out."
"Wanting a different life is not the same as cutting someone's brakes."
The prosecutor did not need to object.
Dana testified next.
Then she repeated Julian's words after the crash.
"It happened."
Eric Baines testified about the ten thousand dollars and the brake fitting.
The garage recording played in open court.
Hearing Julian's voice through courtroom speakers was worse than hearing it in the prosecutor's office.
The defense argued Eric was the true criminal and blamed Julian to save himself.
Then prosecutors showed the EXIT OPTIONS spreadsheet recovered from the cloud backup.
Julian's login created it.
Julian's device edited it.
Julian's finances matched it.
The death column matched the insurance policy, debts, cabin value, and projected cash left after funeral costs.
Dad was seated behind the prosecution rail.
On the second afternoon, I was standing in the courthouse restroom with my walker when Evelyn's assistant knocked on the door.
"They have a verdict."
In the courtroom, Julian stood.
The clerk read the verdicts.
Julian did not look at the jury.
The judge ordered him held pending sentencing.
"Audrey."
"Tell Chloe I love her."
"When she's ready, I'll tell her you said that."
Because outside the courtroom, Evelyn handed me the final divorce order.
The judge had signed it that morning.
My marriage and Julian's criminal freedom ended on the same day.
Then I told Evelyn, "Not yet."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
May you like
"Because Mercer is part of Chloe's name too. I'm not letting him decide what that name means for either of us."
For the first time, the name felt like something I could redefine instead of escape.
