You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 581

“She never wanted me. Not really. All she ever cared about was her own face, her perfect little life. It was never about me.”

Brandon watched Emerson, listening as his angry shouts slowly faded into something softer, something shaky and helpless.

It felt like Emerson was reliving every bit of pain he’d ever gone through.

“Do you even know what that’s like?” Emerson muttered. “Some people are gentle their whole lives because they felt warmth growing up. But some of us—some of us get nothing but pain, and we end up carrying that darkness forever, doing things we can’t forgive ourselves for.”

“You don’t get it. If you did, you wouldn’t question what I did.”

Brandon looked him in the eye, his jaw relaxing as he replied, “No, I guess I don’t get it. But if everyone handled things the way you do, then what’s stopping Jason’s kids from coming after your family next? Where does it end, Emerson? How long are we supposed to keep hurting each other?”

“You’re all family, you know.”

Family?

Jason let out a soft, bitter laugh.

Family? That was a joke. They hadn’t been real family for years. A mother who acted nothing like a mother. Brothers who felt like strangers. A marriage that was just for show. What was left of a family like that?

“So, you’re admitting it?” Brandon asked quietly.

Jason let out a long breath and nodded. “Yeah. I am.”

. . .

“What the hell? He’s never confessed this fast before.”

“Is he hiding something?”

“Boss, don’t you think this whole thing feels off?”

Brandon pulled out a chair and sat down, propping his head on his hand as he thought about it. “Do you think we can still get anything else out of him?”

“It’s gonna be tough,” his colleague replied. “Guys like Emerson—before he even stepped in here, you know his lawyer drilled him on what to say and what not to say. That’s why he kept his mouth shut for so long.”

Brandon tried again. “Sir, I really think Emerson has an accomplice. Shouldn’t we keep digging?”

“Let’s not rush things,” the supervisor said. “Go home and get some rest. You look like a ghost. Honestly, I’m afraid you’ll drop dead at your desk.”

Brandon glanced at the report pinned under his boss’s hand. He wanted to argue, but bit his tongue.

This boss liked to have the final word on everything. He didn’t care how smart his staff were—he just wanted people who did as they were told.

He was a yes-man, always sucking up to the higher-ups, always scheming for favors.

If Brandon didn’t know Patricia had the Padilla family backing her, he would never dare walk away now. If he left, who knew how the case might get twisted.

It had happened before—Emerson pulling strings and getting their investigation shut down.

“I’ll head back then,” Brandon said.

His boss just nodded. “Go on.”