Page 62 of Watch Me Burn

“Why couldn’t you leave things buried, Anna? It’s all spiraled now,” her mother cried.

“No!” Anna’s voice broke. “Don’t say it.” Her face, now a deep shade of red, was awash with tears.

But her mother pressed on. “Your brother, Nathan . . . he wasn’t with me shopping that day. Not when your father . . .”

A cold knot formed in my stomach.

Nathan.

“Why didn’t you say anything? EVER?!” Anna shouted. Rage was climbing within her. I had to rest an arm on her shoulder so she wouldn’t lose her shit.

“Anna, things aren’t always as clear-cut as you see them. I’ve been tormented by what I know for years! When I realized Nathan was here during the murder, what was I supposed to do?” She darted a glance at me before quickly looking away, her gaze settling on the floor. “Of course I regret lying to the police, watching Ethan suffer for it all, but tell me, what mother wouldn’t protect her child in my shoes?”

Anna’s face contorted in anger. “How did you even sleep at night, nestled in your comfortable bed, while Ethan was rotting away in that hellhole for years? There’s a line between protection and enablement. You let your son get away with murder. Fucking murder, Mom! YOU let an innocent man waste away in prison for Nathan’s sins. His life is ruined! His grandmother passed away, shattered, and he wasn’t even there to say goodbye!”

“And I’m SORRY!” she snapped.

But her crocodile tears didn’t sway me. As Anna stood abruptly from the sofa, creating distance between herself and her mother, my mind raced back to the cruel truth: Because of this woman and Nathan, I had spent fifteen agonizing years in prison. My dear grandma, who had been my rock, had faced her lonely demise battling cancer. And in front of us now was a woman expecting pity, hiding behind her so-called “maternal instincts.”

Anna’s face was a picture of pure fury. “You’re unbelievable, Mom. You manipulated the justice system and flaunted your lie right in front of us. The fact that you just lied to me about something like this hurts so much I can hardly breathe. Did you know about Dad all along too?”

Her mother adopted a defensive stance, wrapping her arms around herself. “This is why I didn’t say anything. Of course I didn’t know. I found out about your father only after the incident. But once it was over, everyone else seemed keen to just move on.”

I knit my eyebrows. “Move on? What about the victims? What about me and my grandma?”

The heavy atmosphere was palpable as we grappled with the shocking truths.

Determination blazed in Anna’s eyes. “Spill it, Mom. Every last detail. If you don’t, I promise you I’m going straight to the police. Like literally right now!”

“No!” her mom cried out. “Wait. Just wait.” She took in a deep breath, steadying herself. “ . . . Your brother . . . back then, he had a girlfriend. He had obsessed over that girl. Her name was Lisa.”

“Lisa Coffman?” Anna asked in total shock. “He was in love with Lisa?”

A brief look of mutual confusion passed between Anna and me. How the hell had Lisa kept that hidden? Was she trying to shield Nathan too?

Her mom nodded, tears running down her cheeks again.

“Why did he never say anything?” Anna asked, her voice wavering.

“He was always such a reserved boy. I only came to know when I unexpectedly saw them share a kiss after school.”

Taking the lead, I ventured, “And Lisa shared her traumatic past with him?”

Anna’s mother let out a mournful sound. “That stupid girl. She confided in him. Took him to that horrific cabin. Your brother, so naive and innocent. He was traumatized from then on, long before your father’s . . . demise.”

“Was murdered,” I interjected sharply. Her attempt to gloss over the gravity of what happened irked me. “So, Nathan confronted John, and things spiraled?”

With a defeated nod, she confirmed.

“You stood by, knowing all this, and watched me being branded a murderer?” I demanded, anger rising. “A young man’s life was ruined and countless girls silenced, and you did nothing?”

She shot back, her voice raw and defensive, “What could I have done? Allow the world to brand my husband a monster and send my son to jail?”

I was about to answer that, but then, unexpectedly, she locked her gaze onto mine, a hint of fierce protectiveness there. “And what about Anna?”

I blinked, taken aback.

“Can’t you see?” she continued, her voice tinged with desperation. “Do you think Anna would have had a life after such a scandal? The death of her father was terrible enough for her. But this? She was such a young girl. The truth would’ve destroyed her.”

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