Helanie:
"This is all a lie. Her mother was not a good woman. Why else do you think she stayed silent so long and only now comes back claiming I did all that to her?" my father barked, pulling the typical response of why a victim waits until a certain moment to speak her truth.
"That's because my mother was afraid others would do the same to her, like you did to her, because she is a mermaid. And let's not forget, she had no proof," I hissed, but the smile my father gave me made my anger boil.
"Then where is the proof now?" Niles grunted.
"The proof is my word. The proof is my mother's words," I spat back. Niles shook his head, laughing, until a sudden itch made him cough.
He turned back to look at Norman, who had adjusted himself behind him, and his eyes widened when he felt a dagger in his back.
"Now you will start speaking the truth," Norman said as he gripped Niles's shoulder and shook him.
