The in-laws?
Lila took a deep breath and seemed to steady herself before getting out of the car. Her parents looked overjoyed to see her, but what followed shocked Carson.
“Oh, Lila, we’re so glad we found you,” Lila’s mother said. “And don’t worry about Elon…it’s all a big mistake.” She glanced at the other couple, then told Lila, “Mr. and Mrs. Finder are so happy to have you home, they’re willing to overlook where you went and what you did. They don’t even want to know.”
She patted Lila’s arm reassuringly. “They’re going to get Elon the best legal team, and before you know it, you can go back to life as it was before, as our daughter and their daughter-in-law. You’ll be a Finder again.”
Carson wasn’t surprised, but the look on Lila’s face told him that she was. There was no hug, kiss, or long embrace for the daughter she hadn’t seen in seven years.
Then the woman had the nerve to smile condescendingly at her daughter, as if everything had been Lila’s fault. As if the seven years since they’d seen each other didn’t matter, and the fact that Elon had just been busted for abuse of minors, conspiracy to kidnap, and running an illegal pornography ring had never happened.
“What?” Lila asked. It came out as a whisper, but Carson heard it, and the pain in that one syllable had him seeing red. Before he could say or do anything to put an end to this charade, she said, “Mom, Dad…I don’t want to be a Finder. That’s why I ran away. Elon is a mean and cruel person who’s going to be dragged through the mud, and rightfully so, for the terrible things he’s done. Both to me and to other people. And the Finders are all going to go down with him, don’t you see? They should, they knew exactly what he was up to. Maybe not how he was beating me up all the time, but definitely about all the porn. Don’t you get that?”
Her father frowned and shook his head. “None of that is going to happen, Lila. The Finders are good people, and Elon went off track when you left. We’re going to make it all right.” Then in a commanding and authoritative tone, he said, “You and Elon will both forgive each other. He’ll let it go that you ran away and left him desperate, Lila, and in a few months, it will be like this never happened. Don’t let your overactive imagination take over.”
Carson didn’t quite understand. Did these assholes really just try to blame Lila for what Elon did? He was about to step in and intervene when Lila found her voice.
“No! I’m never going to apologize to Elon. He beat me black and blue daily when we were married. He just had me abducted from my home, drugged and tortured, and only an hour ago, he was taken away by the FBI for filming pornographic movies starring minors.”
Tears began to stream down her face, but she pressed her lips together and straightened her shoulders before saying, “You’re obviously more concerned with the Finders, so you’re welcome to them, but you can’t have me, too. If you choose to believe the lies they tell you about what Elon was really doing, so be it. But the truth is that he’s nothing more than a violent, sick, twisted man. He’s a criminal.” Her voice hitched as she said, “And this is good-bye from me to you. Officially, this time.”
Lila was steady on her feet as she made this declaration, but Carson couldn’t help but wrap his arm around her, wanting to be sure she knew he supported her.
Mrs. Dasher’s eyebrows drew together as she looked on Lila with pity in her eyes. “Lila, maybe you need to talk to someone. Perhaps you’re creating something in your head like your father said, making this all bigger than it really is.” Her expression grew disgusted as she added, “This can’t be what you want,” and her husband nodded in agreement.
Both of Lila’s parents turned to glare at Carson, apparently understanding for the first time that the PI they’d hired meant something to Lila.
His arms wrapped tightly around their daughter was probably a pretty good clue, he mused. Let them try to say something to him; they would be sorry real quick.
Lila didn’t give them a chance to speak with Carson, nor did she even respond to them. She turned and began to climb back in the car when her brothers ran out of the house. It was clear they had been watching the reunion from inside the house, and no doubt knew what their parents’ message was.
“Lila!” they all shouted. The three men circled Lila and pulled in her for a tight hug. None of them had a dry eye and they kept repeating, “Lila, we were so worried. Love you, Lila.”
Carson knew that this type of touching, even between siblings, was unusual in their religion, but so were the circumstances. He stepped back to let Lila have her moment, and could see how torn she was. She obviously wanted to stay and revel in her brothers’ warm kindness, but she needed to get away from her parents, and fast.