FATHER ALWAYS SMILING

Chapter 51 ~~~~~

"He takes my phone whenever I go out with him. I can never go out on my own when I leave the house. If I don't... if I don't do what he wants sexually he gets angry. I... I knew Emma was stealing things to sell. A majority of which she'd give to me, the reason was so that I could one day escape." She looked at the detective. "I know my daughter isn't a great person, she's done horrible things. But she wasn't always like that. When... when she found out the truth that's when she changed... she was eleven, detectives. Eleven years old, just five years younger than me when I was taken. She changed then. I don't blame her, I let her get away with a lot of things because of it, I enable her, but she'd still..." she let out a breath. "She'd still give me money to keep hidden. You probably know this, but my son got into an accident, trying to recreate this skateboarding trick on TickTok, and broke his leg. Um... he... it turns out he had other things I didn't know. Injuries that... that were internal..." she shook her head. "...And the reason I didn't know was because my husband would drug me every night so I couldn't... couldn't run away. But I wouldn't because I had the kids to look out for, I didn't want him to turn on them but he... already h-had..." she broke down and began to cry unable to go on.

Freddie didn't know how things would go forward now, besides tracking down Mr. Terach and charging him with a slew of crimes.

But that made him wonder how Alastor seemed to know about all of this.

* * *

Emma was finally left alone, her mother was being talked to by the police and her younger bratty sister was visiting their brother. Truth be told the reason she had her idiot brother do that stupid trick was so he could get looked at for other injuries that hadn't healed. Ones from their father. As much as disliked her family, she had her moments, if she hadn't gotten her brother in the hospital, he could have died.

Alastor knocked on the door with his index and middle finger. "May I come in?"

She eyed him with suspicion. "Why?"

"Am I not allowed to see how you're doing?"

But instead of pushing the last question and outright refusing she changed her question. "How did you know?" Emma asked when she noticed Alastor's smiling expression, a knowing smile. "Did you look into me?"

"Of course I did," he said as he walked into her room and over to some flowers in a vase that was on a table across from her. "I look into the backgrounds of all who watch my daughter. It's not that hard when you have a face and a name. Speaking of which, how's yours?"

Her eyes narrowed on him. "How do you think? You sent that person after us."

"I did no such thing," he tells her. "You made a choice, and you went to that location. You could have easily just gone to the police and admitted to what you did. I didn't think you'd go that route. But what's done is done."

Emma remained silent for a long moment as he seemed to readjust the flowers.

"You knew about Strudwick?" she asked drawing his attention. "How'd you know about that fucking bastard?"

"I have a child," he tells her. "Do I need another reason?"

Emma shook her head. "No, I guess not."

"He's never going to come back you know." Emma's gaze shot to him, his back was still facing her. "I can tell you with confidence he'll never return. I give you my word on that."

Emma's gaze never broke her mouth partly agape. What did he mean by that?

"And I'm sure the same will happen to your father, though I doubt it'll be before long, given your father's soon-to-be wanted status with the police."