Chapter 3
I got home just after midnight.
The big house was quiet. Cold.
I walked through the marble halls—the place Daniel had called “our dream home.” It never felt like mine. It felt like a museum for his family’s vanity.
I packed a suitcase. Just clothes, my grandmother’s locket, and a box of old photos from Ohio.
Everything else stayed. The furniture he’d picked. The paintings his mother loved. The gifts I’d bought him that he’d barely looked at.
I was halfway to the door when I heard his car pull up.
I froze.
He shouldn’t be here. I’d told him to stay at his mother’s.
The front door burst open.
Daniel stood there, wild-eyed, coat flapping.
“You’re not taking anything,” he said. “This is my house. Everything in it is mine.”
“I’m taking what belongs to me,” I said. “And I’m leaving.”
He blocked the doorway.
“You can’t just walk out,” he said. “You owe me. You owe us.”
“I owe you nothing,” I said. “I worked two jobs to pay for your college. I stayed up nights helping you write business plans. I defended you when your father called you lazy. And you threw it all away for a laugh.”
His jaw tightened.
“I’ll fight you,” he said. “I’ll drag this out for years. I’ll tell everyone you’re a liar. I’ll ruin your reputation.”
“Go ahead,” I said. “My lawyers will be waiting. And remember—you tried to hide your company’s losses from me. You forged signatures. I have the proof.”
His face drained of color.
“How do you—”
“I’m the CEO of an investment firm,” I said. “We find things people try to hide.”
He stepped back. His shoulders slumped.
“You really mean it,” he whispered.
“I’ve never meant anything more,” I said.
I walked past him. He didn’t try to stop me.
I drove to a hotel downtown. I didn’t want to see anyone. I just wanted silence.
But at three in the morning, my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Elena?” It was Margaret. Her voice was thin, shaking. “Please… come back. We’ll change. We’ll be better. I’ll apologize. I’ll get on my knees if I have to.”
“Goodbye, Margaret,” I said.
“Wait—please! Daniel’s gone,” she said. “He left an hour ago. He took his gun. He said he’s going to fix this his own way.”
My blood turned to ice.
“Where is he going?” I asked.
May you like
“He said… he said he’s going to talk to your parents,” she said. “He said if he can’t have you, no one will.”
***
