Chapter 54
chapter
fifty-four
Caleb took a deep breath, trying to keep his anger and betrayal at bay before it overwhelmed him.
Sissy’s face remained defiant, but something flickered in her eyes. Fear, maybe. Or guilt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t lie to us.” Caleb shook his head, his voice barely restrained.
“You can’t prove anything,” Sissy snapped.
“Why?” Millie asked, her voice cracking despite her calm exterior. “Why would you help the man who killed Caleb’s sister? Why would you come here and sabotage a shelter meant to help women like us?”
“Women like you?” Sissy’s voice rose, sharp and bitter. “You don’t know anything about me. About what I’ve been through. About what Richard’s been through.”
“Then tell us,” Millie said. “How did you even meet him?”
“We met at a grief support group in Charlottesville. I’d just lost my brother in an auto accident. He was there mourning Sarah. We bonded over our grief.”
It was the perfect place for Richard to pick up a vulnerable woman.
Caleb despised the man even more now.
For a long moment, Sissy said nothing. Her hands gripped the back of the chair so hard her knuckles turned white.
Then tears began to well in her eyes. “You all think you know the truth. But you don’t. You only know Sarah’s version of the story. The version she fed to everyone before she died.”
“Sarah was the victim,” Caleb said, his voice so low it was almost a growl.
“Was she?” Sissy looked up, tears streaming down her face now. “Or was she a manipulative woman who drove Richard to the breaking point and then played the victim when he finally fought back?”
Naomi gasped from the doorway. “How dare you—”
“Richard told me everything.” Sissy’s voice shook. “About how Sarah was unstable. How she’d threaten to hurt herself and blame him. How she turned his own family against him. How she was going to take everything from him.”
Caleb crossed his arms. “That’s not what happened.”
“That’s exactly what happened!” Sissy’s voice cracked. “And when she died—when it was ruled a homicide—you all made sure he went to prison for it. You took his property. His freedom. Everything.”
“Because he murdered her!” Naomi’s voice was shrill with disbelief.
Sissy shook her head. “He loved her. He loves me. He’s not the monster you think he is. I’m just here so he can finally have justice. This place doesn’t deserve to succeed! Not after everything Sarah did to Richard.”
“Sissy.” Millie kept her voice gentle. “Has Richard ever hurt you?”
“No. Never.” But Sissy’s hand moved unconsciously to her ribs, and Caleb saw the wince that followed.
Some of his anger faded.
Millie stepped closer. “Are you sure about that?”
“He gets frustrated sometimes. While he was out on bail, sometimes I’d say things that upset him, but—” Sissy stopped, seeming to realize what she’d revealed.
“He’s manipulating you,” Caleb said. “The same way he manipulated Sarah. Making you think you’re the problem. Making you believe his version of events.”
“You’re wrong!”
“Then why are you here?” Millie pressed. “If Richard is innocent, why did he send you to spy on Sarah’s family?”
Sissy’s face crumpled. “Because this property should belong to our baby. Sarah signed it away when she wasn’t in her right mind. Richard is just fighting for what’s his!”
“Sarah was of perfectly sound mind when she transferred the property,” Naomi said, her voice shaking.
“She was crazy—”
“Don’t you dare.” Naomi’s voice went deadly quiet, and her nostrils flared as she stared at Sissy. “Don’t you dare stand in my house and call my sister crazy. She was terrified. She was bruised. She was fighting for her life. And Richard killed her for it.”
Sissy opened her mouth to respond, then suddenly gasped.
Her hand flew to her stomach, her face contorting with pain.
“No,” she breathed. “No, no, no—”
“What’s wrong?” Millie touched her arm.
“I—I think—” Sissy’s breathing came faster, more shallow. “I think my baby’s coming.”
Caleb pressed his lips together.
Labor? Really?
The excuse was too convenient. Right when Sissy was backed into a corner, suddenly she was about to have a baby?
“Are you having contractions?” Skepticism lined Naomi’s voice.
“I don’t know—I’ve never—” Sissy gripped the chair harder, her face pale and slick with sweat. “It hurts. Oh . . . oh, oh, oh! It hurts.”
Millie moved closer. “Where does it hurt? Your stomach? Your back?”
“Both. And—and there’s pressure. Like the baby’s pushing down—”
She gasped again, and Caleb saw liquid pooling at her feet.
Her water had broken, he realized.
She couldn’t fake that. This was real.
“Stay here,” he told Millie and Naomi. “I’ll see if the EMTs are still outside.”
He ran outside, thankful to see one ambulance was still there. He flagged down the paramedics and explained the situation.
The paramedics grabbed their equipment and followed him back into the house.
By the time they entered, Sissy was on her knees, one hand clutching her stomach, the other braced against the chair. Her breathing came in rapid, panicked bursts.
“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to try to stay calm,” one of the paramedics said, kneeling beside her. “How far apart are your contractions?”
“I don’t . . . I don’t know—”
“They just started,” Millie said. “Maybe five minutes ago.”
The paramedic checked Sissy’s vitals while her partner prepared the stretcher. “Okay, we’re going to get you to the hospital. You’re doing great.”
As they loaded Sissy onto the stretcher, she reached out and grabbed Naomi’s hand. “Please, I can’t do this alone.”
Naomi’s gaze tightened.
Caleb waited to see how Naomi would respond.
Then Naomi nodded as if she’d come to a determination. “Focus on staying calm. I’ll go with you.”
“You will? After everything I just said?”
“You need someone with you right now,” Naomi said. “We’ll talk about everything else later.”
“Thank you.” Tears rolled down Sissy’s cheeks.
Caleb felt the emotion welling in his chest. The grace Naomi had given Sissy was touching.
Would he be able to do the same? He’d like to say yes, but he wasn’t sure.
Sheriff Sutherland appeared in the doorway, drawn by the commotion. “What’s going on?”
“Sissy’s in labor,” Caleb said. “The ambulance is taking her to the hospital now.”
The sheriff’s gaze moved to the notebook and phone still clutched in Millie’s hands. “What’s that?”
“Evidence,” Caleb said. “We found them in Sissy’s room. She’s been documenting everything about the shelter. She’s pregnant with Richard’s baby.”
Sutherland’s expression darkened. “Do you want to press charges? Trespassing. Espionage. Conspiracy.”
Caleb’s jaw hardened.
A young woman, eight months pregnant, about to give birth.
Manipulated by a murderer. Used as a weapon.
But also complicit. Also guilty of sabotage that had put everyone at Refuge Cove in danger.
He thought about what Sarah would want in this situation.
“I don’t know,” Caleb admitted. “I need to think about it.”
“Understandable. But we’ll need to guard her at the hospital. Make sure she doesn’t run once the baby’s born.” Sutherland pulled out his phone. “I’ll have a deputy posted outside her room.”
“Thank you.”
The ambulance pulled away, lights flashing, siren wailing into the night.
Caleb stood in the driveway, watching it disappear. The weight of the last few hours settled on his shoulders like concrete.
Beside him, Millie wrapped her arms around herself, shivering despite the blanket still draped over her shoulders.
Their eyes met.
Hers were filled with exhaustion, confusion, and a bone-deep weariness that matched his own. “What just happened?”
“I have no idea,” Caleb admitted.
In the span of several days, they’d dealt with: A private investigator’s death. A woman in witness protection. A murderous ex-husband. A pregnant spy working for a convicted killer. And an emergency childbirth. Not to mention the little sabotages here and there.
It felt surreal. Like too much.
But for now—for tonight—they’d survived.
And that would have to be enough.