Never Let Me Go

Exposed

Silence

"She called me before she..." he trails off as his voice breaks. "If I had just answered the goddamn phone then maybe I could have."

"Don't do that," I find myself reaching out to grab his hand. "It's not your fault."

He chuckles bitterly as a tear rolls down his cheek, "It's not anyone's fault right?"

"Actually..." I stop myself, not quite sure how to break the newfound discovery to him. "Xavier..."

"How's Queenie doing?" He asks, abruptly switching gears in terms of the conversation.

"Good," I answer. "You should go see her sometime."

"I don't think Kay's family wants me around much."

"Well, until they figure out this whole custody arrangement, she's staying with Arianna." I explain, opting not divulge the story of our not so little fight on yesterday. "You should go see her sometime. I know she gets lonely with Colin being gone."

He doesn't say anything, and I realize that it's probably best I leave. I let him know that if he needs anything, I'm here for him.

"Thanks Maya," he says, giving me a tight hug before releasing me, and closing the door.

Now, for the hard part....

OoOoOo

"Wait a minute," Mia interrupts Tyler and I. "Are you trying to tell me that Kaydence didn't kill herself?" She places a hand over her heart, looks down, and then up. "But that she was murdered?"

"I'm afraid so," I inform, feeling myself grow uneasy. I hear about and see this kind of thing happen all the time on TV and in movies, but never would I have thought that it would become my reality. "And we need to find out who did it."

"Now, that's going to be the somewhat tricky part," Tyler joins in, grabbing a stack of papers. "From what Maya has told me, there are quite a few men who would hold grudges against Kaydence and therefore mean to h-"

"I know who did it."

Tyler and I both look at Mia strangely, but I'm the one who speaks first.

"Excuse me?"

"Raphael, my brother and Kay's uncle," she starts in a shaky voice. "He was responsible for her parents murder."

And shit just keeps on getting better.

"What?" Tyler states, clearly taken back by this latest bombshell.

She sighs, "It was only supposed to be a robbery that he was going to set up and place the blame on our father for, thus completely ruining any chance of reconciliation between Kemina and our father. I never told my father or mother, because I knew it would devastate them."

"God," I rub my temples. "But, I still don't see how that would place the blame on him for Kay's murder-"

"He wanted Kemina out the picture because she was always papa's first choice as successor and, as you know, my mother is not up there in age,-"

"So you think he killed Kaydence to ensure she wouldn't get a chance at inheritance of the family business?"

Mia nods in affirmation to Tyler's conclusion. "It's a stretch, but you don't know my brother like I do, this has his doing all over it."

"But still," I interrupt. "Whoever did it, Kay must have let them in because according to the police report, there are no signs of forced entry." I sigh. "Did she ever see a picture of him or something?"