Across the room, Laura sat hunched over, staring at the floor. Her eyes were red from crying, but she hadn’t said a word for nearly twenty minutes.
Finally, I broke the silence.
“How long?”
Laura looked up slowly.
“How long what?”
“How long has your mother been doing this to Sophie?”
She swallowed.
“I… don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I knew she was strict,” she whispered. “But I didn’t know about the cottage.”
My jaw tightened.
“The folder says otherwise.”
Laura wiped her face with trembling hands.
“I never saw the folder.”
“You knew she punished Sophie.”
“She said it was discipline.”
“You believed her.”
Laura looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her.
Before she could answer, the door opened.
A tall man in a gray suit stepped inside.
“Mr. Miller?”
“That’s me.”
“I’m Detective Marcus Bennett with the Aurora Police Department.”
He held a thick envelope in his hand.
“We located Evelyn Carter this morning.”
My heart pounded.
“And?”
“She’s in custody.”
Laura inhaled sharply.
“For what?”
Bennett glanced at her briefly.
“Child abuse. Endangerment. Unlawful confinement.”
My fists loosened slightly.
Good.
But Bennett wasn’t done.
“There’s something else.”
I straightened.
“What?”
He raised the envelope.