Ethan looked from his mother to his wife, who was calmly placing legal documents on the coffee table.
Then my cell phone rang inside my breast pocket.
Ms. Whitaker.
“Who is calling him?” Madison snapped.
Ethan pulled the phone from my pocket and stared at the screen. He looked at me. He looked at Madison. He looked around at the estate.
He had a choice.
Save the man who raised him, or secure the fortune.
He pressed the power button.
The phone went dark.
Then he placed it in the bottom drawer of the credenza.
“Okay,” Ethan whispered. “We wait.”
Something inside me broke forever.
The love I had carried for that boy turned to ash.
He was not just a victim of Margaret’s lies.
He was willing to let me die.
They stood around my body, preparing their story. Madison opened the binder.
“Ethan, date his signature here. Use the blue pen.”
I waited until he uncapped it.
Then I inhaled violently, coughed, and rolled onto my back.
The silence was absolute.
