Silent Secrets Read online

  Baby- All roots get tangled and twisted, it’s part of life. What matters most is that they’re strong and deep. Twisted together we are stronger and our roots can’t be pulled. I’m in deep with you.

  My Queen, Ruler of my heart - First off, you are not fine. Don’t say that you are. You’re not alone. We’re going to win this war, and then we’re taking you home.

  Sweetheart - We stand together as one. We would follow you anywhere. Believe in yourself, in us. I love you. Give ‘em hell.

  My fingers trembled as I folded up the note that was pure love. Each one of them took their time to craft touching, sweet and true words that would give me strength, hope and love.

  I held tightly to the note in the sweaty palm of my hand as we all stood when the bailiff spoke. “All rise for the Honorable Judge Jeppson.”

  We all rose, and an older women come out, dressed in the standard black robes judges wore. I watched her sit down in her seat in front of us.

  “You may be seated.”

  I sat down. Even though I knew I was innocent, my stomach rolled with nervousness with what I was about to do.

  The judge spoke yet again, and Sarah took ahold of my hand and gave it a small squeeze of encouragement.

  “Today,” the judge spoke, “is the preliminary hearing for the case of Faith...” she paused, and her brow creased. The judge looked my way. “Is your name Faith Daniels or Manto?”

  “It was Daniels, Your Honor,” my lawyer spoke up, “but now it’s Manto.”

  The judge gave my attorney a narrowed stare. “We cannot proceed with this hearing unless we have a name addendum.”

  “But we do, Your Honor.” My lawyer presented her with the paperwork when the judge requested it. Looking it over, she sighed.

  “This preliminary hearing is for the case against Faith Iris Manto for the murder of her father, Cyrus Daniels.”

  The judge looked to the other side of the courtroom toward where Detective Yasmin sat next to an attorney. “Please present your findings.”

  Detective Yasmin was smug as the attorney tore through the detective’s evidence—how the wounds I had suffered could have been self-inflicted; that the neighbor witness saw someone go in and come out but revealed that it was someone of small stature; that I could have come home and seen what was happening, killed my father after he accidentally killed my mother, panicked and left the house to hide the weapon that had been used, then come back to self-inflict wounds that could have been believable before issuing an anonymous call.

  “Speculation, Your Honor,” my lawyer shot off.

  The courtroom was quiet. “Is it?” the state attorney asked.

  Then Detective Yasmin let the tape roll.

  “You have no idea what it's like, to wake up from a beating that you never once thought your father was capable of doing.”

  “She just trying to help,” I heard Talia murmur through the recording.

  “Just because you have lost doesn't mean you understand my loss. I thought I killed my father. Did the papers tell you that? That I held the guilt inside of me...”

  Detective Yasmin stopped the tape. “There’s her confession, Your Honor.”

  The judge turned to me. “Do you have anything to say for that?”

  I cleared my throat and stood and the lawyer stood as well. “We have reason to believe—” the lawyer started, but I broke in.

  “I’m guilty, but not in the way Detective Yasmin painted.”

  “Faith!” Brady and the lawyer reprimanded.

  “Your Honor, I know this is unusual, but may I speak freely about that night and what happened after?”

  The judge nodded. “This isn’t a trial yet, but you may speak your piece, though I strongly suggest that you allow your counsel to speak for you.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor. It all started when my brother died...” I told them all everything. Their sadness, the pain, their drinking. How they forgot to get food when their main source of sustenance had become alcohol. How my dad fought. My mother cried all the time. Then that night.

  “.... I always hid in my closet,” I murmured. “My parents had changed, and so had I. The closest was safe, but that night, for the first time, he wasn’t breaking things, he was breaking her. I ran out there to see if I could stop him...” I shook my head, dropping it as my voice shook, “he hit her too hard. She was thrown off balance and hit the corner of the coffee table. There was blood...” My chest hurt thinking back. My voice shook. “So much blood. I-I-I tried to protect her, but I wasn't quick enough. My dad, he was beyond reasoning. He wasn’t there anymore. I cradled my mom, pushing my father away as his hard blows transferred to me. I watched as my mom died, Your Honor. He was going to kill me, next. I couldn’t get away. I was only thirteen. I loved my father. He used to be the one who kissed me goodnight. Taught me to fish in Witchback Spring, ride a bike and there he was, a man I didn’t know. No matter how hard I fought, he was stronger.” I lifted my head, fighting back tears. “When I was close to blacking out, I saw one of those hard whiskey bottles. The ones that were clear, hard glass with the red top, and I hit him.”

  There was a gasp behind me. “I don’t know what happened after that because I blacked out and couldn’t remember. It wasn’t until two days ago that I had another night terror and realized what had happened. That recording was a tortured girl, unsure of what happened but still filled with so much guilt. I didn’t remember anything. I died that night, and Officer Brady brought me back. After that, I was put in foster homes and harassed by Detective Yasmin...”

  “Now wait a minute,” I heard Detective Yasmin say to the other attorney.

  “Objection, Your Honor!”

  “Denied. I want to hear what she has to say.”

  I took a deep breath, trying to calm my emotions. “Despite the reports that state I was a difficult child, it was not true. I graduated early, despite all the times Detective Yasmin had sought me out before and after school for interrogation purposes for hours on end, and without parental consent from my guardian ad litem or any access to anyone. She purposely sought me out when I had moved to New York. She wired one of my friends, now a relative, after blackmailing her. Then she had me arrested at my guardian's aunt's funeral. I’m sorry, but I feel like there have been more unjust things happen to me for being a confused, traumatized kid, who had done everything to try to make her life better. I want this to be over. I was only protecting myself,” I finished, a weight lifting.

  The judge questioned my lawyer, “Do you have proof about the guardian ad litem and the blackmail?”

  My lawyer straightened. “Yes. We have certified documents and notarized letters stating this, as well as witnesses here today.”

  The judge called the state’s attorney and Detective Yasmin, who was sputtering, as well as my lawyer up to the bench. After brief words, the judge announced that there was going to be a brief recess and they would convene back in courtroom in half an hour. My lawyer came back with a smile. “We're going to go talk to the judge in her office. You scared me there for a moment, Faith, but I believe with what you said, everything's going to be okay.” She smiled at me but then gave me a serious look. “But as your lawyer, I’m going to have to insist that you don’t pull a stunt like that ever again. There’s a reason I went to seven years of school for this job, and an even better reason why Vic Manto pays me to do this stuff. Leave it to the pros next time.”

  They told us we could leave the courtroom, but I didn't want to. I didn't want to talk with anyone. Brady and Sarah tried to talk to me, as well as Tucker and Grandma Betty, but I stayed silent.

  When the judge came back and we are all were seated, Detective Yasmin wasn’t sitting at the prosecutor's table with the attorney, but the man who had saved me that one time in the interrogation room stood in her place.

  “It has come to my attention,” the judge stated, “that the investigation Detective Yasmin originally began was not fully approved, nor was it legal. Add along to that the neglig
ence of proper interrogation procedures and the equivalent of stalking and blackmail, this creates an anomaly in our court hearing and earlier findings in the death of Cyrus Daniels. The case against Faith Iris Manto is considered closed. You are free and clear of any legal pursuits on this matter, Ms. Manto, unless the prosecution turns up any new evidence, and as such are free to go. The state takes these matters very seriously, and Detective Yasmin has been placed on administrative leave until further notice. I’d advise you to fill out an order of protection against her. With that, court is adjourned.”

  My heart raced in my ears as relief consumed me. We won. I was free. We were free, I amended, glancing over to my family. Happy.

  “We need to get out of here,” my lawyer stated, rushing us out of the courtroom into a large hallway where Brady was the first to pull me into a hug.

  “It’s over kiddo,” he gruffed. “and I’m so sorry.”

  I gave him a squeeze, my heart full. “You don’t have to say sorry, Brady. I understand,” I mumbled against his shoulder then whispered, “We protect the ones we love. That's just what families do. You needed to protect her and the kids, and so did I. So I lied.”

  He pulled back, tears evident in his eyes. “You know?”

  I swallowed, nodding before reaching for Sarah, who was standing, waiting to hug me. I wrapped my arms around her. “Thank you, Sarah. For running that night.” She started to cry when she realized I knew. “For saving me. Taking me into your home. Never giving up. Thank you.”

  “I love you, Faith, but I couldn’t tell you. I was so scared,” she whispered. “I went on a run that night.” Sarah started to cry. “When I rounded the corner, I could hear voices, and as I got closer I heard everything. You, saying your mother was dead and then you pleading for your life. I-I didn’t think. I just threw open your front door and saw all the blood and then you. Your father was out of control. He was so far gone that he didn’t even notice me. I took that liquor bottle, Faith, the one you describe earlier with the red cap, and I hit him with it.” Sarah trembled. “He just dropped on top of you and didn’t move. So I pushed him off and rushed outside to call Tom, but I saw the police car already coming. I was scared. Scared of what I did. I took the liquor bottle and continued jogging down the street and around the corner until I got home and threw it away. I never told Tom until...”

  “You came back from your anniversary vacation,” I finished, all of it coming together for me. “That’s why you don’t run at nights anymore, and why your gloves went missing,” I breathed.

  “Can you ever forgive me?” Sarah pleaded, pulling back from me. “For what I did. For keeping it a secret?”

  “There's nothing to forgive,” I replied honestly. “Thank you, Sarah. For saving me.”

  “Time to go,” Brady urged. “I don’t want anyone to change their minds.”

  When we got to the lobby of the courthouse, I noticed a huge crowd had gathered. “We’re going out the front,” Brady told me, “but you’re headed out the back with the lawyer.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Trust us, Faith. Go,” Sarah spoke, pushing me another direction. “Hurry.”

  “Best be going, Faith.” Grandma Betty smiled. “I’m pretty sure you’ll understand when you get there. See you back home.” She kissed my forehead before I hurried toward my lawyer, who was waiting.

  “Ready?” she asked, not waiting for an answer before rushing us through a hallway toward the back of the building where a black suburban waited with tinted windows. “Get in,” she commanded, and I slid inside. Kayden, Lincoln, and Tyler sat inside waiting for me.

  My heart burst with relief as all the tears I’d held at bay escaped, and I fell into Kayden’s arms. All was right in the world again.

  Chapter 12

  After a while I finally took my head off of Kayden’s shoulder and moved over to sit with Lincoln. He was sitting next to us, behind Tyler, who was in the driver’s seat, navigating us out of that hellish place. I curled into Lincoln, extending my legs across Kayden’s lap, then reached my hand over to Tyler’s shoulder, grounding me to them and their comforts. I was relieved and saddened at the same time. So much has changed in the past three days that I had lost who I was. Maybe it wasn’t that I lost who I was—maybe I had always been lost. Ever since that night.

  When I had finally calmed my silent tears and was able to talk, my voice came out thick with emotions that I couldn’t hide.

  “I know who sent those text messages, Lincoln.”

  His body tensed under mine, and I felt the other two do so as well. “Detective Yasmin?” he questioned softly.

  “In the end, yes, but not at first. It was Talia .”

  “Talia?” both Kayden and Tyler asked, surprised.

  “But why?” Lincoln questioned.

  “She had a crush. A big crush on you.” I slid my face into the curve of his neck. “She was harassing you, which Yasmin found out about when your dad went to his work to try to figure it out. Yasmin used Talia’s crush to have her text me with a new untraceable phone with the same number. Then Yasmin had Talia wear a wire to try and record a confession out of me.” I felt Kayden slip off my shoes and socks then he rubbed my feet, trying to get me to relax. I groaned as his strong hands swept across my arch, and I felt myself start to drift.

  “What happen next?” Tyler prompted.

  I yawned. “Yasmin got what she wanted, then... she didn’t.”

  “Baby, why did you confess that you were your father’s killer when you believe someone else did it? Why lie and risk going to jail?” Tyler demanded.

  Kayden squeezed my feet, letting me know that he’d like to know the answer to that question as well. Lincoln’s hand brushed my hair away to kiss my brow. “Why would you do that, Sweetheart?”

  I snuggled closer to him, almost trying to hide from their expressions. “To save Sarah.”

  I heard them audibly suck their breaths in, and I hurried to explain before the three of them came to the wrong conclusion. “She was the one there that night. It took me awhile. All the clues were there, but I didn’t put it all together. Two nights ago, when I first came to the compound, I had a nightmare.

  “It was like my mind saved all the clues and then pieced them together in that nightmare. Sarah started running in the mornings instead of in the evenings. When I asked her about it she avoided answering. There were the missing gloves that she had in her running photo with Brady. She seemed to always push me to live life and not dwell in the past. She was the one who saved me. Then she had to protect herself. And today, I had to protect her, Brady and their new family.” I lifted my head towards the rear view mirror and caught Tyler's worried gaze. “She did nothing wrong,” I stated firmly. “Nothing. My father would have taken his own life once he sobered up and realized what he had done. He should have never turned towards liquor to numb his pain. My mother either. I was the only innocent in all of that.”

  Lincoln wrapped his hand around my head to nudge it back to his shoulder. “We hear you, Sweetheart. We hear you.”

  “Where are we going?” The tension drained from me once again when one of Kayden’s hands reached the underside of my knee, giving me a comforting squeeze. “Go to sleep, Sweetcheeks. We’re taking the long way home.”

  ***

  Tyler

  I looked back in my mirror, once again finding Faith slipping down into sleep. My brothers and I had high-tailed it up to Denton County just in time for the court hearing, worried about Faith and what she was going through. My stomach had filled with acid as I replayed Brady’s words in my head when Mom had put him on speaker phone. “Faith was arrested.” Then, “There’s going to be a hearing. Are you coming?”

  Hell yes, we were coming, and that was pretty much what had come out of everyone's mouths. Raina and Mom kept me calm, but it was Lincoln and Kayden that kept me sane. We, as brothers, banded together and kept each other grounded as we made our way to the woman we loved. I’d never seen Kayden so lost and Lin
coln so out of control, furious. We let anger cloud our rational thoughts, but the we pulled it together and came up with a plan. The next day all of us flew into Denton and made it just in time to rent an SUV and head over towards the courthouse. It didn’t matter that Faith might not be released that day, all of us were staying until we were able take her home. Tom Brady thought that it might be a few days but that Faith had some pretty influential people on her side. I just hadn’t expected it to be Tucker. All he’d done was cause headaches, and it looked like he’d created another one. His own sister was the reason that Faith was being accused of murdering her father, and then for his family to butt in and take over? Nu-uh. No way. That was my first thought. But then Tucker’s grandmother came over and whispered words to the three of us that had us on the defensive side. “Break her, and I’ll break you, got it?”

  I had visibly swallowed, not because the sweet old hag was intimidating. No, it was the group of muscle behind her that had the three of us acknowledging her threat for what it was—genuine maternal concern. The old hag had somehow taken Faith under her wing and made her one of her own.

  Her request was an easy one considering we would never break Faith, but would always love her. Our defenses dropped, but our guard was ready to be put back up if needed be.

  Kayden had agreed also, but muttered that he hopped it didn’t swing both ways. Love, Faith and I love you. He’d shuddered, as did the rest of us as we stealthily went and grabbed the SUV and drove it around the back to wait. We had made plans with a prayer and a whole lot of blind trust that we would be taking our woman home, and we were relieved that our prayers had been answered.

  Looking back toward her once again, I knew she needed to be pampered and cared for. Loved. We had a whole week to get her home, and we just needed everything to go smoothly.

  “Are you two ready?” I asked them quietly.

  Kayden lifted his head, his eyes meeting mine, glistening with unshed tears, and he grimaced. “I want her to laugh. To smile again.”

  Lincoln nodded then jerked his head to glance out the window as he answered in a gruff voice, “I want her to feel safe. Wanted and needed. I don’t want her to tell me she’s fine.”