7
950words
"If you truly loved the children as much as you claim, then why did you seek out that kidnapper to abduct your own grandson?"
My words sent a wave of shock through the room.
"What does she mean? Wasn't the child killed by a sociopathic criminal? How is he involved?"
"From what Vanessa's saying, it sounds like her father hired the man who killed Jax."
"A grandfather hiring a kidnapper to target his own grandson? Are wealthy families always this twisted? This is terrifying."
The murmurs from the crowd made my father's face grow increasingly pale. He knew if he didn't explain himself quickly, it would be too late.
So he began a flushed and frantic denial.
"You... what nonsense are you spouting! Cheating was my mistake, I admit that! But no matter how much you hate me, you can't just fabricate lies to frame me!"
"I cried my eyes out after Jax's accident! How dare you slander me like this? Have you no conscience?"
"Accusing me without a shred of proof! Do you have any evidence?"
He really refused to give up until confronted with undeniable proof. He probably thought that with the kidnapper dead, his dirty secrets had died too.
"Who says I have no evidence?"
"I have the bank statements showing your driver's transfers to the kidnapper's family. I have surveillance footage of you meeting with the kidnapper before the incident."
"You were clever enough to avoid the main cameras, but unlucky for you, it was all caught on a nearby parked car's dashcam. I guess fate was on my side."
I handed the video on my phone to the police and distributed printed photos of their meeting to everyone present.
"First, your affair led to my mother's death. Then you conspired with Amber and my husband to switch my babies. Then you specifically sought out a terminally ill man to plan this murder."
"You all agreed that after Jax died, you'd tell me he was my son, crush me emotionally, and seize the company from me."
"But unfortunately for you, I had switched the babies back first. All your schemes only harmed Amber's son. My son is safe and sound at school right now."
"So now, do you still think I have no evidence? Do you still want to try and lie your way out of this?"
Father's face turned red with rage, and he stared at me with pure hatred.
"You did this on purpose! You knew the truth all along! You just stayed in the shadows, watching us dance like puppets!"
I nodded. "Yes, I did. I wanted to see just how low all of you would sink for a piece of the so-called family fortune."
"I thought you'd just scheme behind my back. I never imagined you'd dare to hire a killer."
Then I turned to my husband, who was trying to hide in the crowd. "Chris, stop hiding. There's no crack in the floor for you to slip into."
"I know you're the one who gave my father the kidnapper's contact information. And that kidnapper was a relative on your mother's side. He wasn't in it for the money my father offered; he wanted to help you seize power before he died. Am I right?"
"You had it all planned out. You were going to use this as leverage against my father, to force him to hand over the CEO position to you eventually."
"Each of you had your own selfish agenda. In the end, the only one who truly lost was poor Jax."
"What a spectacular show of dogs biting dogs."
The people present were stunned by these revelations, rendered speechless.
I walked over and crouched down, meeting my sister's gaze at her level. "Amber, Jax's death wasn't an accident, and it wasn't my fault. He died because of the greed of you three. If you must hate someone, don't hate the wrong person."
No one wants to admit they caused their own child's death. Amber was no different. As soon as I finished speaking, she instinctively blamed our father and Chris for everything.
Right then, our frustrated father, full of pent-up resentment, yelled at her: "What are you glaring at? You useless failure! You didn't even notice the child was switched right under your nose! If it weren't for you, would things have come to this?"
Seeing the look of pure hatred and desperation in Amber's eyes, I knew the last thread of her sanity had snapped.
Father and Chris were in for trouble.
Sure enough, the next second, Amber scrambled up from the floor.
Human potential is limitless in extreme rage.
Amber, wielding a dagger she had somehow gotten hold of, slammed into Chris, knocking him to the ground, and stabbed straight for his heart.
After succeeding, before anyone could react, she charged furiously toward our father.
By the time the police subdued her, both Chris and our father were lying in pools of their own blood.
Amber's first stab was precise, right through Chris's heart. He was dead before the ambulance even arrived.
Father, with the police's help, narrowly survived, but what awaited him was prison.
In the end, Amber was sentenced to death for murder.
Father was also sentenced to fifteen years for contract killing. Given his age, even if he miraculously lives until his release, he'll be an old man in his seventies or eighties, unable to do much.
Once the dust settled, I transferred Noah to a new school and moved with him to a new neighborhood, ready to start our new life and finally close this painful chapter.
