Chapter 17 - The Jailhouse Visit
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A week before Evelyn's trial was scheduled to begin, I flew back to Austin alone.
I didn't tell Maya where I was going; I told her I had a quick business meeting. I drove straight from the airport to the Travis County Correctional Facility.
I requested a visitor's meeting with Inmate Evelyn Vance.
I sat in the sterile, brightly lit visitor's room, staring through the thick plexiglass. Ten minutes later, the metal door opened, and a guard escorted my mother into the booth.
She looked terrible. The orange jumpsuit hung loosely on her frame. Her gray hair was unkempt, and the arrogant, controlling woman I had known my entire life was replaced by a bitter, hollow shell.
She picked up the heavy black phone on her side of the glass. I picked up mine.
"Have you come to gloat?" she sneered, her voice raspy.
"I came to tell you that Robert Vance submitted the new evidence to the DA yesterday," I said, my voice completely devoid of emotion. "The ledger from seven years ago. The forged insurance cancellation forms."
Evelyn's eyes widened in sheer panic. The color drained entirely from her face.
"I know what you did to Sarah, Mom."
She swallowed hard, looking away. "It was an accident. I meant to pay the premium, but Greg was in trouble with a loan shark. He needed the money! I was going to pay it back the next month, I swear!"
"You forged my signature to cancel the policy so I wouldn't find out it lapsed," I countered, the anger burning cold in my chest. "You watched my wife waste away in a hospital bed, holding my hand, while you knew exactly why she was dying."
"She was going to die anyway!" Evelyn screamed into the phone, hitting the glass with her palm. "The treatment was experimental! I just repurposed the money for family who actually had a future!"
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I stared at the monster sitting across from me.
"Your trial starts next week," I said softly. "Greg is the star witness against you. The DA is pushing for a thirty-year sentence. You are going to die in a concrete box, Evelyn."
