𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒, 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

FORTY-EIGHT| cameron conversations

EDEN sat quietly in the Cameron Estate, staring at a computer. 

"A great man once said that if you're born poor, that's not your fault. But if you die poor—well, that's on you." Ward Cameron's solemn voice echoes through small room, reaching the ears of the seven who sat around the computer his face flashed upon.

Eden sat in a chair beside Sarah Cameron, lips drawn in a thin line as she watched the man upon the screen speak. Ward Cameron sat neatly in front of a computer, dressed in a white dress shirt with a peaceful expression as he spoke—he'd chosen the easy way out of his crimes, but he'd managed to find time to film his final words to his family in the time it took him to come to the decision. 

Eden wanted to roll her eyes at his words, at his calm nature. She doesn't feel any remorse for the man speaking—he was a murderer, and he'd ruined her and her best friend's lives. The last thing he deserved was an ounce of her remorse for what led him to what he did. He chose to kill himself; he could have taken the blame instead, for the sake of his wife, his kids.  

But, she doesn't roll her eyes or scoff because she does, however, feel remorse for his family—most of them, at least. She frowns at the tears running down Rose's face as she looks at her husbands face through a screen, the watery eyes of Sarah as she recovers from witnessing the event, the trembling lip of Wheezie as she listens to the voice of her dad.

Behind Eden is Rafe. He'd been let out of jail because, in his final deeds, Ward had taken the blame for everything. For Peterkin, for Gavin; for Big John. He'd made sure to protect his family, even if it meant he had to leave for good.

The Cameron boy paces back and forth, face daunting tear stained cheeks. His jaw is clenched as he listens to his father talk—why did he take the blame, why did his dad go down for his actions?

Isla and Tom were present too. However, Eden had seen a tension barrier between the two—instead of being placed next to one another, Isla was standing behind Rose's chair, arm placed on the head, holding onto the Cameron woman's hand in solemn comfort, while Tom stood behind Eden's chair, arms crossed. Any eye contact made between the two seemed distant. Something was off.

However, Eden didn't really care what happened between her parents at the moment—they hadn't really been a connected family in what seems like forever, so whatever marriage strain they were currently facing was beyond her. 

 Instead, she dedicates her focus on Ward's words.

"I think, in the end, it was my fear of going back, of losing everything I have that made me lose sight of everything I am......everything I wanted to be." Ward continues. He's silent for a moment before he admits, "I killed Big John Routledge." 

Sarah lightly rolls her tear filled eyes at the mention of the Routledge man, and Eden bites her lip.  

"I murdered Sheriff Peterkin."

Rafe crosses his arms, shaking his head with tears threatening to leave his eyes. 

"I shot Gavin Barnstead." Ward proceeds, continuing to speak in the most solemn of tones. His stares directly at the camera, "Isla Bexley was not apart of any of these murders firsthand. I forced her to lie under oath; I forced her to keep everything a secret. Her involvement was all me."

Eden looks up at her mother, Isla letting out a sharp exhale at Ward's words. She was safe.

The Bexley was still feeling soft towards her mother after almost watching the woman follow after Ward, but she didn't find what Ward had said right in the slightest. Isla's involvement was her own decision, and the Cameron didn't need to take the blame. Isla Bexley deserved whatever punishment was coming her way, Ward dead or not.