Richard eventually discovered part of it.
He confronted Marcus.
Marcus promised the new contracts would fix everything.
Richard believed him because he wanted to.
Sophia discovered the forged guarantees months later.
That was the beginning of the end.
She had not told me because I was overseas.
“I thought I could fix it before you came home,” she said.
“You didn’t have to protect me.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
She stared at the blanket.
“Because every call with you already sounded like you were carrying too much.”
I sat beside her.
“You don’t get to decide what I can carry.”
A small smile appeared.
“I know that now too.”
We had difficult conversations.
Not only about Marcus.
About us.
Deployment had taught both of us to edit our lives for each other.
I left out danger.
Sophia left out fear.
We called it protection.
Sometimes it was distance wearing a nicer name.
Richard eventually agreed to speak with investigators without trying to minimize his actions.
He admitted moving Sophia from the house before calling police.
He admitted lying about the alley.
He admitted waiting while trying to persuade Marcus to tell him exactly what happened.
He denied helping clean the house.
Physical evidence supported that denial.
Marcus appeared to have returned alone after Richard drove Sophia away.
Richard’s attorney began discussing a negotiated resolution with prosecutors.
Sophia wanted no part in deciding his punishment.
“I’m not the judge,” she said.
But she did write a statement.
Not about revenge.
About the twenty minutes.
That was what she could not forgive.
Her father had found her injured.
And instead of immediately calling for help, he had spent precious minutes thinking about Marcus’s future.
“I was his daughter too,” she wrote.
Those six words stayed with me.
Meanwhile, Marcus’s financial case expanded.
