Page 152 of It's About Time
Rhonan reaches for the gun on his hip. “I suggest you sit down, Henry.”
My father looks over at him. “You can’t tell me what to do.”
Kevin clears his throat. “Actually, he can. And in a moment, he’s going to arrest both you and Mr. Turner here.”
My father pounds his fist into the table, nearly knocking the cake over. I debate reaching out to save it from falling and having to be thrown away, but honestly, my pants have been fitting a bit better since Dilynne stopped sending me baked goods the past few weeks. “On what charges?”
“Conspiracy to commit fraud and forging a will.”
“Shit,” Greg mutters beside him, pinching the bridge of his nose.
My father narrows his eyes at Kevin. “You have no proof.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong, Dad,” I say, reaching behind me to grab the real will and trust that my grandfather left behind. “You really shouldn’t leave important documents lying around that you don’t want people to see.” Holding up the paper to him so he can see that I’ve found the correct will for my grandfather’s estate, I watch the blood drain from his face. “Yeah, I suppose you thought your dirty work was done and buried, but the next time you attempt to forge a will, you should probably make sure the font and ink matches on the two documents.”
“You son of a bitch!” He yells, attempting to catapult himself across the table at me. Luckily, Rhonan steps in, pulling my dad across the table and throwing him down on the ground.
Greg attempts to make a run for it, but Kevin stops him at the door. “Not so fast, Turner.”
“Please. This was all Henry’s idea. He forced me into it!”
“No, he bribed you with a cut of my inheritance,” I cut in with the truth about why he would help my dad. That part clicked for me later after we spoke a few weeks ago.
“I told him no, but…”
“You fucking liar, Greg! You told me this would be easy!”
I stare down at my dad on the floor as Rhonan pulls his arms behind his back and puts on the cuffs.
Dilynne comes up beside me. “Just breathe.”
I reach for her hand and give it a squeeze. “Thank you.”
“Of course. I’m here for you.”
I turn to look down at her. “I know you are. You always have been.”
Rhonan begins to read him his rights. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…” Once he’s done, he pulls my dad from the floor so I can look him in the eyes.
“Thank you for proving to me that you are so much less of a man than Grandpa ever was.”
“I am hisson. His own flesh and blood, and he left his fortune to you! I did everything for that man, and this is what I get?” He shakes his head, his face red and hair in disarray. “I was just getting what I deserved.”
“What you deserve is to rot in a jail cell for a while and figure out how you became this greedy human being that your own father didn’t raise you to be,” Dilynne says while keeping her grip on my hand.
“You have no idea what it takes to be a man, Elliot. You have failed me in so many ways…”
“Right back at you, Dad.”
Rhonan pulls my dad toward the door and Kevin follows him with Greg also in handcuffs, leaving me and Dilynne alone.
I pull her into my chest. “You’re okay. I’ve got you,” she whispers in my ear as she runs her fingernails through the hair at the back of my head.
I blow out a shaky breath. “Fuck.”
She pulls back and holds my face in her hands. “It’s over.”
“No, it’s not. This is just the beginning. There will be a trial, and…”
