Epilogue
Kara had promised herself she would tell Colin before going.
She didn't. She knew he would try to stop her, but Richard was in prison. Most of the people involved had been arrested. Richard had twenty years for what they connected him with. Not with King’s or Kevin’s murder, but enough to keep him behind bars for a long time.
She was safe.
Still, something about that day at the cabin wouldn't leave her alone. The way Richard had mentioned her mother, urged her drive to the prison alone.
Richard was already sitting behind the glass when she walked in. He looked older somehow, dressed in prison clothes, but the same cold smile crossed his face when he saw her.
Kara picked up the receiver, settling it against her ear.
“I’m happy to see you. You’re my first visitor.”
“In a year?”
He nodded, a small smile tugging at his mouth.
Kara didn’t know what to say. She studied him through the glass, trying to reconcile the man she remembered with the one sitting in front of her now. A year had passed, yet somehow it felt both longer and shorter than that.
“So, how’s the town?” Richard asked, a faint smile spreading across his face.
“You’re old news.”
He threw his head back and belly-laughed, the sound carrying through the small visiting room.
“Zoe had her son and moved away.”
“Can’t blame her.” His smile faded slightly before his eyes returned to hers. “And you?”
“I’m still there.”
Richard nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful.
Kara lowered her gaze for a moment, her fingers tightening around the receiver. There was something strange about sitting across from someone who had once been part of the town’s biggest cover-up, now separated from it by a sheet of glass and a locked door.
“The reason I came here today is my mother.”
Richard's smile disappeared, though he didn't seem surprised.
“I was in love with your mother.”
Kara's heart stopped for a second.
“What?”
He looked down at his hands.
“She was beautiful. Sweet, too. She trusted people, and George took advantage of that. He had to get everything he wanted. He knew exactly how to get it, too. He tricked her. She believed he loved her, but that's not what it was.”
She had never heard this story before but Kara wondered how her mom ended up with a man like George.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“You need to know, isn't that why you're here?”
Kara nodded.
“George was an angry drunk. When he drank, he became someone else. Your mother took most of it. She tried to keep the peace, especially after you were born.”
Kara felt her eyes burn.
“She wanted to leave him,” Richard continued. “She told me once that she was afraid she'd never get away. She had you to think about. George made sure she felt trapped. I tried to get her away from him. I told her I could help her. We talked about leaving more than once.”
“Why didn't you?”
Richard's face changed. “Because George found out.”
Richard leaned closer to the glass.
“What happened?”
“George wouldn't let her leave. He told her he'd ruin her. That she couldn't take you girls with her if she wanted to leave.”
“What happened to her?” Kara's eyes filled with tears.
Richard looked at her.
“That's the part I don’t know.”
A guard glanced toward them.
“Five minutes.”
“I don't have enough time to tell you the rest.”
“No.” Kara shook her head. “You can't stop there.”
Richard gave her a sad smile.
“I'll tell you when you come back.”
The guard stepped forward.
“That's all for today.”
“No. Please.” Kara's voice cracked.
Richard put the receiver down. Kara kept hers against her ear.
“Tell me more about her.”
He stood.
“See you soon.” he mouthed.
The guard led him away. Kara remained in her seat, tears running down her face. She had gone there thinking Richard might know something about her mother. Kara hadn't expected to hear a story that changed everything she thought she knew.
Her mother had been trapped.
Two weeks later, Kara found herself sitting across from Richard again. This time, she wasn't nervous.
The visiting room felt just as cold and sterile as before, the thick glass separating them reflecting the harsh fluorescent lights overhead. Kara watched as Richard took his seat, his hands resting loosely on the table.
She picked up the receiver as soon as he did.
Richard smiled.
“I knew you’d come back.”
Kara said nothing. She held his gaze, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing how badly she needed the answers he had promised.
“You’ve been thinking about what I told you.”
She nodded.
Richard leaned back in his chair, studying her for a moment.
“I suppose you want the rest.”
“Your mother and I knew each other before she met George. We were young, but I loved her.”
A faint smile crossed his face, softened by something that looked almost like regret. “She loved me too.”
Kara's expression remained still, but something tightened in her chest.
Richard's eyes dropped briefly to the table.
“I never stopped loving her. I watched from a distance. I knew George was drinking more. I knew things were getting worse.”
He rubbed a hand along his jaw, his gaze drifting toward the wall behind her.
“Your mother knew something was wrong. She started asking questions. George warned her to stop, but she wouldn’t.”
Richard shook his head slowly.
“She was braver than people gave her credit for.”
The words settled between them. He paused, his fingers tapping once against the table before going still.
“She came to me one night. She was scared. She told me she wanted to leave.”
Kara's fingers tightened around the receiver.
“She wanted to take you girls and go somewhere no one could find you. I told her I was going with her.”
Richard's eyes dropped.
“But before we could, George found out.”
His expression hardened.
“George must have run her off that bridge,” Richard said, his voice heavy. “She would’ve never left you girls.”
A faint smile returned to his face, almost unsettling in its calmness.
“I’ve got twenty years. We don’t have to rush.”
Kara stared at him, the receiver pressed against her ear.
She already knew she’d be back.