She had known Emily was in the passenger seat.
When the prosecutor asked about that, Diane’s face moved for the first time.
Her lawyer objected.
The judge overruled.
The prosecutor asked again.
“Mrs. Mercer, when you saw Emily get into the car with Nathan, did you call Cole Whitaker and tell him to stop?”
Diane looked at the table.
She did not answer at first.
Then she said, “There wasn’t time.”
Emily felt her mother inhale beside her.
There is always time to stop harm if you are still more attached to the person than the plan.
Diane had chosen the plan.
The trial did not bring Nathan back.
Nothing did.
Not the guilty verdict.
Not the sentence.
Not Cole Whitaker’s apology letter, which Emily never opened.
Not Diane’s final statement, where she cried and said she had lost her son too.
Emily did not dispute that.
