Chapter 264: The Search For Justice
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The laptop screen went dark, and for what felt like forever, the only noise filling Ethan’s bedroom was the soft, steady hum of the heater pushing warm air against the frost coating the window panes. Outside, the snow tapped gently on the glass, almost like it was trying to be polite while the chaos inside the room seemed ready to explode.
I found myself sitting on the edge of Ethan’s bed, knees pressed tightly together to the point that my thighs throbbed, staring at the dark screen as if hoping it would suddenly spring back to life and reveal that this was all some kind of elaborate joke.
Keith killed Joanne...his own wife. The mother of his son.
My heart was racing, doing its usual frantic flutter when everything felt overwhelmingly real, and I couldn’t shake the thought that kept echoing in my mind: My mom was with Keith? Before Joanne died? They lied to us saying they met last year when they’ve been together the whole time?
Did that mean...my mother knew Keith killed Adrien’s mother? Was she in on everything?
Adrien was the first to break the silence. He shoved his chair back so forcefully that the legs screeched against the hardwood, making me cringe. Then he just stood there, towering over the desk, looking lost about what to do with the rage and grief boiling inside him.
He brought his hands up to his face, fingers tangled in his hair, and dropped into the chair with a heavy thud that shook the whole frame.
He didn’t cry...Adrien never let tears fall in front of anyone if he could avoid it, but his breathing was shattered, quick and jagged, as if his lungs were struggling to hold everything in.
Ethan was on the other side of the desk, looking pale under the soft light of the lamp, but his stance was steady, as it always was when the rest of us were falling apart. He rubbed a hand over his jaw, taking his time like he was carefully processing the confession piece by piece.