They Chose Their Adopted Daughter, So the Real Heiress Walked Out novel · Chapter 12 of 24

Chapter 12: The Offer

The sheriff's office dropped the charges against the boy at nine that night.

The deputy told me the honors girl had given a full statement and that the Foundation's lawyers had called twice, asking questions.

By the time we got back to the garage, it was past midnight.

Caleb put the kettle on the hot plate and made two mugs of tea.

I sat on the cot with the blanket around my shoulders.

He sat on an overturned bucket across from me and looked at his hands.

"Can I ask you something?" I said.

"Sure."

"The day I woke up in that hospital room. You were in the chair."

"I was."

"You were looking at me before I said anything. I was awake. I'd been awake for a while, listening to them."

He didn't answer.

"You saw I was awake," I said. "You heard Clark say I always come around. You heard all of it, and you said nothing."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

He took a long time to answer.

"Because the door was open and your eyes were open, and I thought: she's hearing it for herself. If I stand up and tell them to shut up, then it's me who stopped it. And you'd never know what they were when they thought you couldn't hear."

"So you let me listen."

"I let you listen."

"That was a strange thing to decide for someone."

"It was." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I've thought about it every day since. I should have said, 'She's awake.' I'm sorry."

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