“Records of what?”
“Payments.”
My stomach dropped.
“Payments from Richard?”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“For what?”
Liam’s eyes hardened.
“To keep quiet.”
I felt physically ill.
Richard had been paying Paul.
For years.
Not child support.
Silence money.
“How much?”
“At first, two hundred a month.”
I remembered those years.
Richard complaining about bills.
Richard refusing to replace the washing machine.
Richard telling me we couldn’t afford vacations.
And all along, money had been leaving our account.
“For how long?”
“Almost thirteen years.”
I covered my face.
“God.”
“When I was sixteen, the payments stopped.”
“Why?”
“I think Richard threatened him.”
“How?”
“There’s a letter.”
Liam handed it to me.
The paper was old.
The handwriting was Richard’s.
