I pull the buckle.
It does not open.
Garrett swims away.
Penelope waits on shore.
Then Tobias stands.
Every time.
Standing where a paralyzed man should not stand.
He cuts the wire.
He opens the door.
He tells me to play dead.
For years, that was the strangest part of the memory.
Now it is the part I understand best.
Garrett thought he knew everyone.
He thought Tobias was helpless.
He thought Penelope was loyal.
He thought Victor was untouchable.
He thought I was weakened.
He thought the river would erase us.
He thought wrong.
People become dangerous when you decide you already understand them completely.
Garrett never looked closely enough at my brother.
He saw a wheelchair.
That was all.
He never looked closely enough at me.
He saw a wife.
An inheritance.
A signature.
That was all.
He never even looked closely enough at Penelope.
He saw a willing accomplice.
Eventually, she became a witness against him.
And Victor saw his son as a tool.
In the end, Garrett turned on him too.
