Page 190 of This Life of Mine

For a moment, I simply stare.

This woman has spent years destroying lives without a second thought. Manipulating, lying, and hiding behind money and influence. Now she’s standing in the glow of police lights wearing handcuffs.

She doesn’t look at me. Her chin stays high, her expression pinched with irritation rather than remorse, already rehearsing the lies she’ll tell to save herself.

Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me.

Women like Elinor never think they’re the villain of the story. Even when they’re caught.

The detective confirmed that Blake, the Allister family accountant, will also face criminal charges for his involvement in the years-long financial fraud.

He also confirmed that Cassie will be investigated and will probably face prison time for her role in my child’s death.

Even hearing the words feels surreal.

For years, I’ve carried that loss like a wound that never fully healed. Some days it ached into oblivion. Other days it consumed me, tearing me from the inside out. But no matter how much it hurt, I always believed it was a tragedy. A horrible, heartbreaking tragedy. Not a conspiracy or betrayal. Not something orchestrated by people who smiled to my face and moved through my life as though they belonged there.

I force the lump in my throat back down.

The thought of Cassie being involved still doesn’t feel real.

I trusted her. Maybe not with my deepest secrets, but enough. Enough to never imagine she could play a role in something so monstrous. And now every memory feels tainted. Every conversation and smile. Every moment I spent wondering why my life seemed cursed.

The worst part isn’t the anger. It’s knowing my child didn’t die because the universe was cruel. My child died because people made choices. Selfish, calculated, unforgivable choices.

I don’t know if I’ll ever fully understand how someone reaches that point. How they see an innocent child and decide their own wants matter more. Some things are too ugly to make sense of.

Thankfully, every word Elinor confessed was captured by the security cameras throughout the shop. For all of Elinor’s intelligence, her understanding of technology was clearly not one of her strengths.

I don’t know what she expected to happen after she killed me. Maybe she thought she could disappear—outrun the truth.

From what the detective told us, she was planning to leave the country once she was finished with me.

What she failed to realize was that the moment she started talking, she gave us everything we needed.

She spent years believing she was the smartest person in the room. In the end, her own arrogance was what destroyed her.

I’m lost in thought, watching the red and blue lights wash over the storefront, reflecting off the windows, the sidewalk, the familiar sign that feels like a backdrop for my life.

Police. EMTs. Firefighters. And phones. So many phones.

I sigh, already knowing what comes next. With this many lights and this much commotion, there’s no way there won’t be IG reels and TikTok videos by morning. Probably already are. Small town. Word travels faster than facts.

I pull my phone out and call Val. She answers on the second ring. “Lina?”

I don’t sugarcoat it. I give her the rundown—quick, clipped, honest. Elinor. The gun. The arrest.

There’s a pause on the other end. Then, “What the actual fuck?”

“I know,” I say.

Another beat passes. Longer this time. When she speaks again, her voice is different—no bite, no fire. Just disbelief.

“She…oh God. I can’t believe it?” Val says. “Lina, tell me you’re not saying what I think you’re saying.”

My throat tightens. “She planned it. All of it. Cole. The baby. Virginia. David. The money.”

I can hear Val breathing. Uneven. Like she’s trying to get her bearings in a room that tilted sideways.