Chapter 3

"Meredith. What are you doing here?"

My mother-in-law stood in front of the camera, leaning on her cane, her face a portrait of disappointment.

"Child, how can you be so thoughtless?"

"Angel has barely been home these past five years because of Alice's case. Can't you just make things a little easier for her?"

I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"So you're saying I'm the one being unreasonable?"

She sighed and struck the floor with her cane.

"There are bigger things at stake here. Think about appearances! The way you're carrying on — how is Angel supposed to hold her head up at work after this?"

"No — you're the ones who are completely unreasonable!" I pointed at the camera, my composure starting to crack.

"That was my daughter! She wasn't a tool for your family to cash in on for status and career advancement!"

"A living person is gone, and you're here talking to me about the bigger picture?"

"When Angel was pregnant, it was YOU who said a girl was a waste, who told her she had to have a son!"

"And now that Alice is gone, this is how you treat me?"

Meredith's face went red. Then the fury hit.

"You — you're talking nonsense! This is completely outrageous!"

I laughed.

I reached down and yanked the rag out of Valencia's mouth.

"Hel—"

He barely got a sound out before I picked up a bag of quicklime sitting nearby, tore a slit in it, and held it over his battered, blood-soaked face.

"Valencia," I said, my voice quiet and cold. "Do you remember — three days before Alice disappeared, five years ago — why you went with Angel to the clinic for that procedure?"

Valencia's crying stopped instantly. His pupils contracted to pinpoints.

Meredith leaned in close to the camera. Her voice was unsteady.

"You — you're making wild accusations! When did Valencia and Angel ever go to a clinic like that?!"

Valencia caught up a second later and started screaming.

"You're lying! I never did that! Mom, he's lying!"

I stared into the screen. "So you're vouching for him too?"

She flinched, then quickly rebuilt her righteous expression.

"Endrick! Baseless accusations like this will only add to your charges!"

I let out a cold laugh and checked the time. "You've burned through two chances."

"Third chance. One hour. Clock starts now."

I sat back down and traced slow circles in the dirt with the shovel.

Angel paced in front of the camera, going back and forth, whispering urgently with Meredith.

With ten minutes left, I started counting down out loud.

"Five hundred and forty… five hundred and thirty-nine…"

"There is nothing to find! What do you want from me?!" Angel was coming apart.

The comments raged alongside her:

[She would've handed it over already if it existed! He's trying to force her to fabricate evidence so he can destroy her career!]

[Exactly! What kind of father is this? How does he deserve a child?]

[Absolutely vile. This broke my whole view of people.]

"Ten… nine…"

"Endrick!!"

"Eight… seven…"

"Endrick, snap out of it!"

"Six…"

"Daddy!"

A small, childlike voice drove itself into my chest like a blade.

My whole body locked up. I shot to my feet.

A little girl, five or six years old, appeared on screen, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Alice…"