Chapter 25
Hez stared down at Ella’s grave. Savannah stood beside him. Her sobs had subsided to sniffles, but her breathing was still
shaky and ragged. He put his arm around her, and she leaned her head on his shoulder.
He had no idea how they’d gotten there. He vaguely recalled gathering her in his arms when she collapsed in the visiting room.
Then they’d been in the parking lot, holding each other tight. And then he was driving through the countryside, not consciously
aware of where he was going. He’d had one hand on the wheel, while the other grasped Savannah’s. They must have left her car
in the jail parking lot.
It was a beautiful day, which felt wrong and surreal. The sun hung high in a cloudless sky. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves
of the ancient oak and tupelo trees, carrying the scent of wildflowers and newly mown grass. A bird sang somewhere. A single
fresh red rose lay on Marie’s grave.
Savannah hugged herself and rocked back and forth. “I don’t know how to forgive him. I’m not sure I can.”
“I know, babe.” Hez crouched down and brushed a leaf from the little statuary grouping that marked Ella’s resting place.
Ella sat on his lap while Simon knelt beside her and smiled adoringly at her.
Savannah sat on the sculpted grass on the other side looking toward the children, a peaceful smile on her stone face.
“I could forgive Deke for trying to kill us. But Ella—” His voice broke and his vision blurred.
A kaleidoscope of images ran through his thoughts. Savannah holding newborn Ella in the hospital, Ella taking her first wobbly
steps on chubby legs, Ella laughing and playing with Marley, Ella looking up at Hez with her blue eyes full of confusion as
he tried to explain that “dog” and “God” were very different words.
Those same eyes staring at him, glassy and dead, as he desperately performed CPR on her by that swimming pool.
Savannah knelt beside him and put her arms around him. “Oh, Hez. You carried all that guilt around, but it wasn’t your fault.
And you holding me tight by the hand during that ordeal with Deke made everything clear about those pictures. I believe in
you. I know you would never cheat on me, never. You might be guilty of being too obsessed with justice, but most of the time
it’s endearing. I love you.”
“I’m sorry.” He clutched her to his chest. “I don’t deserve you. I’ll try not to be so stupid ever again.” He wasn’t ready
to let himself off the hook about Ella. He rested his hand on top of the headstone. “If I’d been paying attention to her like
I should have, she’d still be with us.”
Savannah gave him a squeeze. “She’s with God.”
A new fear gripped Hez’s chest. He touched the statue of Simon. “But Simon is with Michael. We can’t let him hurt another
child we love.”
Savannah froze for a heartbeat. “Do you really think Michael would hurt Simon?”
Hez swept his arm around the graveyard. “This cemetery is full of people Michael hurt. He broke your mom’s heart and drove her deeper into booze and pills.
He fed Jess’s hunger for vengeance until it led her into a very dangerous plot that wound up killing her.
And now we know that Michael’s scheming caused Ella’s death too.
He hurts everyone he touches, even the ones he claims to love. ”
Savannah pointed down the hill to the weedier Willard plot with its smaller monuments. “There are fresh graves down there
too. How many deaths has Michael caused in his own family?” She bit her lip. “I wonder what Deke would have been like if he’d
grown up without Michael’s influence.”
Resolve hardened in Hez’s heart. “I won’t let him destroy Simon too. I’m going to protect our boy like I should have protected
Ella. And I’m going to get justice for our little girl, no matter what it takes.”
Savannah tore her gaze away from the picture on her office desk at TGU. Ella’s dimpled smile was imprinted on her mind forever.
If she let herself dwell on what she’d learned from Deke, she’d be paralyzed today, and she needed to work. There was solace
in doing what she loved so much, and she found it a place to forget her pain for a little while before it came swooping back.
The grumble of the mower outside her window made for a soothing backdrop to the day, and the scent of grass wafted through
her open window.
She moved her mouse and pulled up the progress reports on Legare Hall.
Construction on the exterior and grand hall was on schedule for completion in three weeks, though the remainder of the building would be unfinished.
HVAC, electrical, and plumbing would be completed next week, and construction on the other areas would start next month.
She couldn’t wait to walk across the mahogany floors and gaze into the dome overhead.
It had been an eyesore for so many years, and the completion of the building would show the world the university wasn’t only surviving—TGU was thriving.
Ella’s picture caught her eye again, and she allowed herself to smile back into her daughter’s blue eyes before reaching for
her great-grandfather’s drawings. She intended to fulfill his vision for details and decor in the hall. She studied the classical
moldings in the main hall and snapped a picture of them for the carpenter she’d hired. When she set aside her phone, scrawled
words in her great-grandfather’s ornate script drew her attention. She’d never noticed his note tucked in the bottom right
corner, and she situated the paper in the light to see it better.
Willard Hall, in honor of Joseph Willard and the longtime dean of students, Ezra Willard.
Her great-grandfather had never intended to name it Legare Hall. Her father had corrupted one more way to honor the Willards.
Did the man have no shame whatsoever?
She picked up the framed picture of her baby girl, and rage gathered in her chest. “I have to stop him,” she whispered. Pierre’s
ruthless drive to elevate his own position in life had left as much carnage in his wake as Michael’s.
Her father’s voice boomed through the screen window behind her, and she turned to see him berating the gardener for leaving clippings on the sidewalk.
The poor man didn’t speak English well and kept trying to explain he hadn’t gotten out the blower for cleanup yet, but her father brushed off any explanation.
His imperious voice and reddened face transported her to the cowering little girl she’d been.
Her lip curled. The only emotion she had left for him was contempt.
Pierre left off haranguing the gardener and walked toward the entrance to the building. She set the picture back in its place,
then rose and waited for him to appear with another demand for her to fund his trust. The blood roared in her ears, and she
clenched her jaw so tightly a jab of pain shot through her head.
The door opened and her father, dressed in golfing clothes, stepped into her office. He’d always been bigger than life, forcing
his way through every circumstance with his entitlement, and his presence soaked up the air in the room. His arrogant stare
her direction raised her ire to the boiling point.
She lifted her chin and came around the side of her desk. “You are despicable. The price for your arrogance and greed was
Ella’s life! My baby girl was murdered because of you. It was no accident.” What she’d learned from Deke flowed off her tongue
like lava.
Her father’s face went white as she laid out the plot. “W-what? How can you blame me for the Willards’ treachery? They’re
a tribe of psychopaths.”
She advanced toward him. “If you knew how dangerous they were, why did you cheat them out of millions of dollars? Don’t bother
trying to tell me you didn’t do anything—I’ve seen the proof. You stole the money for the neonatal unit. Time after time you
defrauded them. How did you think they’d react?”
“They never understood how university funding works, and clearly you don’t either. Funds dry up and plans change. It happens
everywhere.”
“The money ended up in your trust fund! You planned to seize it all along.”
“And you still haven’t fixed my trust fund.”
She’d had all she could take of his whining, self-serving behavior. “Thanks to your behavior, my nephew is in Michael’s clutches
too. You might not care about that, but I love him and he’s likely to be the next casualty. You’ve milked this university
for the last time. Now get out of my office, or I’ll have security remove you. I’m ashamed to be your daughter.”
His eyes narrowed, but as she came toward him, he backed quickly toward the door and opened it. “You’ll be sorry you crossed
me, Savannah. Very sorry.”
“I’m only sorry it took me this long!” She slammed the door behind him and stalked back to her desk. If only she’d stood up
to him years ago.