Blake aimed at my chest and said, “This time it will look like murder and suicide, a jealous husband snapping.”
Before he could pull the trigger Victor emerged from the kitchen with Detective Delgado and three officers.
The entire confrontation was being recorded and streamed live through hidden cameras.
Blake and Lauren were disarmed and arrested on charges including conspiracy to commit murder, fraud, and in Blake’s case, homicide related to my father’s reopened case.
During the trial overwhelming evidence surfaced, including financial documents and an audio recording Victor had retrieved of Lauren and Blake discussing the staged accident in chilling detail.
They were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
Six months later I saw Lauren once more in a courthouse hallway where she pleaded, “Garrett, please forgive me, I was scared and confused.”
I met her eyes and said quietly, “You chose greed over family, and that choice cannot be undone.”
When Ava asked me why Blake never apologized, I explained, “Some people think words erase damage, but some damage changes everything forever.”
She nodded thoughtfully and then asked if we could build a new house somewhere safer.