FINAL PART5: At 2:00 a.m., I woke to my stepfather kicking in the door of my Navy apartment. By the time he stopped hitting me, I could barely get to my feet.

PART 5: THE STATEMENT I WROTE MYSELF — FINAL PART
“And she typed it.”
For a moment, I thought I had misunderstood.
My mother had called for help.
My mother had brought the tablet.
My mother had sat beside my bed and cried over what Richard had done.
“What time?” I asked.
Detective Vega sat down.
“We’re establishing the timeline.”
“What time did she type the letter?”
“She says it was before he left the house.”
Before the three missed calls.
Before the emergency dispatcher heard his threats.
Before my mother became the frightened woman who had tried to save me.
She had helped prepare the words he intended to leave behind.
“Did she know what it was?”
Vega did not look away.
“She says he initially told her it was a confession he wanted you to sign.”
“Initially.”
“Yes.”
“And when he dictated the last sentence?”

THE END