Maybe I am...
Maybe I should be locked up in a psych ward.
My tears dry, and hands stop shaking. I don’t regret what I did. It was worth the pain and suffering I endured later. None of it could compare to whattheywent through.
“I did what I thought was right. The trial was the top news, and the judge worked hard to bring me to justice as soon as possible. I never told them if I killed Vasilis or why. No one asked. They assumed, but no one got it right. Only one person knows the real reason—his father. And now, you’ll know too.”
“Why?” Theo mouths, prompting me to look at him.
And once again, I’m not sure what it is that shines in his eyes. Fear? Contempt? Curiosity? Maybe a mixture of all three. Maybe something else entirely.
“See, that office? I learned why I wasn’t allowed inside. I learned why Vasilis was so involved with helping every orphanage in the area. I saw the reason on his laptop. His screensaver was a collage of pictures of little boys and girls...naked.”
“Fuck,” Theo breathes quietly, his eyes wide, glued to my face, skin ashen. “Was he...? Jesus,” he huffs, unable to call the monstrosity for what it was.
I don’t blame him. I can’t think of a single crime worse than that committed by my dead husband.
“A folder loaded with video clips of Vasilis raping children was on his desktop,” I say quietly. “In plain sight. Not hidden, not password protected. He was a powerful man, with an even more powerful man behind him—his father, former president of Greece. I don’t know if Vasilis felt invincible or...” I huff a sigh, digging my nails into my palms. “His father would’ve buried the evidence and made my life a living hell if I tried to expose Vasilis. I didn’t know how else to stop him from hurting children.”
Two years later, I’m yet to come up with an alternative. A solution that would’ve let him live. One that would’ve allowed me to stay in Greece with my family.
I take another sip of coffee, waiting for Theo to process the information. He’s lost in thought, absentmindedly grinding his teeth. Minutes pass before he speaks, and when he does, his voice sounds strained, as if he’s forcing his vocal cords to work.
“Why were the charges dropped?”
Relief tries to sneak into my heart because he doesn’t seem afraid of me. He doesn’t sound as if I’m a disease feasting on his life. I wouldn’t have regretted spending twenty-five years in prison for killing Vasilis, but that doesn’t mean I wanted to. After he took his last breath, I seized his laptop, knowing the evidence on it could be the bargaining chip able to save me from a life behind the bars of a maximum-security prison.
“Halfway through the trial, Vasilis’s father agreed to talk to me. He arranged for a private conversation with no witnesses.” I look up, meeting Theo’s dark eyes. “I blackmailed him. I told him what his son did and that if I go down for his murder, I’ll take him and his good name with me. Rizos was my chance to walk away. I told him I’ll make the evidence public. It’d be the end of him. The end of his family, and he’d never allow it.
“Two weeks later, he returned with a stack of legal documents—his insurance policy to make sure I’d never tell anyone why I killed his son. The charges were dropped, Vasilis’s death was ruled a suicide, and I was released.”
Theo takes the first step forward, but I jerk back, holding my hand out before he can touch me.
“Don’t underestimate this. Ikilleda person. I slit his wrists and watched him bleed out. Take a second to think about what you want to do next.”
His jaw works furiously, but he stays at a distance when he voices another question. “Would you do it again? Would you kill him knowing what you know today? Knowing your family and friends will hate you? Knowing you won’t have them in your life?”
I don’t have to think about the answer. I’ve had a long time to deal with what I did, to relive every second of that fateful day. I lost my life as I knew it. I can never tell my parents the truth, and despite the charges being dismissed, they firmly believe I’m guilty, and they don’t want to know me. It would cost them their livelihood if they stood by my side.
“Yes,” I answer truthfully. “I’d kill him again. Over and over because I don’t know what else I could’ve done to stop him. I’ve not saved the world, but even if it’s just one child who won’t suffer, it was worth it.”
He doesn’t let me stop him this time when he comes closer and cups my face, ghosting his thumbs across my cheekbones before his lips come down on mine in a deep, slow kiss.
My world crumbles around me, and in an instant, it’s rebuilt with renewed strength, new hope, and new life.
“I love you,omorfiá. So fucking much. You’re stronger than me and my brothers combined, and I’m so proud that you’re mine.” He presses his lips to my forehead. “I’m never letting you go.”
I move my hands to his sides and wrap them around his back. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I try not to think about it because it hurts that I won’t ever see my parents again. I can’t tell them the truth.”
“You told me. You can tell them too.”
I shake my head and close my eyes tight. “You believe me. They won’t.”
“Why the fuck wouldn’t they? You’re their daughter.”
“Not anymore. I tried to talk to them after I was cleared of charges, but they wouldn’t even let me in the house. My father backhanded me and told me never to show my face there again. I wanted to write them a letter, but I can’t say more than I already told them. I shouldn’t be lettingyouin on the secret. If Rizos finds out I broke the NDA, I’m going straight to jail.”
“I won’t tell anyone, Thalia. You can trust me. I swear.”