Chapter 2: The Folder on the Table
Part 2 ⬇️
Ethan didn't move for a long moment.
He just stood there, staring at that draft message with his name in it, his face going through something I'd never seen before.
Shame, maybe.
Or the beginning of it.
Margaret broke first.
"She manipulated that child.
You know how Sophie is — she says whatever Emily tells her to say."
Sophie looked up at her grandmother.
"I didn't, Grandma.
I took the picture because I thought it was pretty."
No one laughed.
Ethan finally set the phone down on the counter.
Slowly.
Like it might go off.
"How long have you been planning this?" he asked.
Not to me.
To her.
Margaret straightened.
"I'm protecting this family.
Someone has to."
"From what?" His voice cracked.
"From Emily doing the dishes?"
She stepped toward him.
"From a woman who was never good enough for you.
I've been saying it for years and you never listened."
That's when the front door opened.
The lawyer walked in without knocking.
He looked at Margaret first — like he already knew where she'd be standing.
Then he looked at Ethan.
Then at me.
He set a folder on the table next to my emptied purse.
"Margaret called me three days ago," he said quietly.
"But she's not my client anymore."
May you like
Margaret's hand went to her throat.
"Ethan is."
