Page 28 of Twisted Salvation
“Yeah,” I sigh. He helps me sit up in his lap, and Natalie comes over to check my wrists.
“Hi, Myra,” a woman smiles at me. “I am Detective Naomi Higgins with the FBI.”
“Uh oh. Did I start something?” I ask.
“I am Kathie Jackson. I am the judge who will be taking over your case. Amy Peters is the district attorney. You’ll meet her soon,” Kathie says.
“It’s so late,” I say. “Why are you guys here?”
“How are you?” Naomi asks.
“That is a stupid fucking question,” I snap.
“Myra, are you absolutely positive about Judge Chambers?” she asks.
“Yes,” I say.
“Why didn’t you tell us he was your uncle?” Dominic asks.
“I… because… I was scared. I’m more scared of him than I am of Dad and Leon put together,” I say honestly. “I’ve tried my best to block him out.”
“Has he hurt youbefore?” Naomi asks.
“Uh… well… he… he is the reason I was put on birth control,” I say carefully. “He got me pregnant when I was twelve.”
“Oh, Myra,” Dominic says softly. “Did you have the child?”
“Yeah,” I say with a sigh. “She’s fourteen.”
“Have you met her?” Natalie asks me.
“No. I’ve talked to her parents, though. She knows who I am and what the situation was. She wants to meet me, but I don’t think I’m there yet. Her mom says that she understands and that she’s not upset at me, so that’s helpful. One evening, I was left alone for a little too long, so I took her to the fire department,” I explain. “She was a week old. I had her at home, so no one knew she even existed. I didn’t want her to grow up around what I did, so I gave them all of the information that I knew. I even gave them my name so that if whoever she was placed with had questions, they could ask.”
“I’m so sorry,” Dominic says tearfully.
“It’s okay. The moment I gave her up, I knew she was going to have a better life. I can accept it because she would have just ended up in the exact same place I was in. I would’ve done it all over again just to make sure she was safe,” I say. “I only struggle with meeting her because I know it’s going to hurt, and I’m going to want to keep her for myself. I don’t think I even could because I surrendered her, but I would never take her from her parents anyway. They are amazing people who have given her a wonderful life. She is so smart and beautiful. She’s everything I would’ve ever hoped for.Her parents struggled for years to have a baby, having over twenty miscarriages. I don’t want to mess up their family or bring chaos into her life. She deserves better than what I have to offer her. Future kids are obviously a different story. If I get pregnant or plan to have a child, I will have a conversation with her. I don’t want her to think that I’m trading her in or that I didn’t want her. I do want her, but that is not what she needs.”
“I understand,” Dominic says.
“So, I will have to contact them,” Naomi says. “If her parents consent, I would like to test her DNA. If I can prove that he is her biological father, he will go to jail for a very long time.”
“Okay. They are nice people, so I’m sure they will help,” I say.
“I will also offer for them to be placed under protection to ensure no one tries to find her,” Naomi says before asking, “What is her name?”
“I named her Rose, after Mom. That was her middle name, and it’s mine as well. They kept her name the same,” I say.
“Okay,” she smiles. “Anything else we need to know?”
“I’m pretty sure Dad killed Mom,” I say. “Leon said I’d die just like she did. He didn’t specify suicide.”
“I’ll have the autopsy report pulled so I can review it,” Naomi says.
“I am transferring the conservatorship to Dominic and Matthew,” Kathie says. “In ninety days, they can sign off on it ending. That is the easiest way, and you obviously trust them.”
“What about everything else?” I ask.
“You are being granted a protection order against Walter and Leon, and I’ll add Alvin, too,” she says. “Amy is filing charges on all of them. There will be a warrant for their arrest by morning.”
