Chapter 6: The Sister Who Heard Everything
I sank onto the sofa with Leo in my arms.
“Everything is gone,” I whispered.
Dad knelt in front of me.
“You and Leo have a place with me.”
“I don’t want another man deciding where I live.”
His hand dropped.
“I deserved that.”
The doorbell rang again.
I flinched.
“If that’s Rowan—”
“I’ll answer it.”
Dad opened the door to a woman carrying a silver gift bag.
Mara Bennett looked like her brother around the eyes, but she would not meet mine.
“Selina sent you?” I asked.
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
She set the bag down.
“Because I was at the birthday dinner.”
Dad remained beside the door.
“Say what you came to say.”
Mara pulled out a small digital recorder.
“Mom makes me record her speeches for social media.
I forgot to stop it when she went into the private dining room with Rowan.”
My arms tightened around Leo.
“What did they say?”
Mara pressed the button.
Selina’s voice filled the room.
“Once Gideon sees the baby, he’ll change the will.
Then the Sterling money is protected.”
Rowan answered, “Phoebe still thinks he refused our wedding invitation.”
“Keep them apart a little longer.
After the trust changes, you can decide whether the marriage is useful.”
My throat closed.
The recording continued.
“And the baby?” Rowan asked.
Selina laughed softly.
“A Sterling grandson will always have value.”
Mara stopped the recording.
“Leo is not a bargaining chip,” I said.
“I know.”
“You knew what they were doing?”
“Not all of it.”
“But you knew enough to stay silent.”
Mara’s chin trembled.
“Mom paid my rent.
She reminded me every month.”
“That didn’t stop you from coming tonight.”
“No.
Watching Rowan toast her birthday while his wife was in labor did.”
I looked away.
Dad placed the returned wedding invitation on the table.
Mara touched the envelope.
“Rowan showed me this after the wedding.
He said it proved Gideon hated you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid of losing my family.”
I looked down at Leo.
“And now?”
Mara wiped her cheek.
“Now I know silence only helped the wrong people.”
My phone rang.
ROWAN.
Dad reached for it, but I answered.
“What do you want?”
“To explain.”
“You had four years.”
“You’re upset and exhausted.
Come home after you’ve slept.”
“I am home.”
His voice hardened.
“My attorney is filing for emergency custody.”
My knees buckled, and Mara caught my shoulder.
“You abandoned us.”
“I’ll say Gideon took advantage of your condition.
I’ll show the court your messages about anxiety.
Then I’ll show them his money.”
Tears blurred the room.
“You would take Leo from me?”
“I’ll do what I have to do until you stop listening to your father.”
Dad held out his hand.
“Give me the phone.”
“No.” I pressed it closer.
“Rowan, listen carefully.
You will not use my son to reach my father.”
“You can’t fight me, Phoebe.”
“I gave birth without you.
Don’t tell me what I can survive.”
I ended the call, but my hand would not stop shaking.
“I can’t lose Leo,” I said.
Dad sat beside me.
“You won’t.”
“You don’t know that.
Rowan has documents, attorneys, and my medical notes.”
“And you have the truth,” Mara said.
“You also have me.”
I looked at her.
She placed the recorder in my palm.
“This is the original.
I’ll testify.”
Dad took a breath.
“Phoebe, there is something I must say before we do anything else.”
“What?”
“I let pride keep me away.
Rowan blocked letters, but I could have come to your door.
I could have fought harder.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because I thought respecting your choice meant accepting your silence.”
My tears fell onto Leo’s blanket.
“I thought you had chosen your pride over me.”
Dad’s eyes filled.
“And I thought you had chosen a life without me.”
Leo stirred between us.
Dad touched one tiny foot.
“We both believed the person who benefited from keeping us apart.”
Mara’s phone buzzed.
Her face went pale.
“What is it?” I asked.
May you like
She turned the screen toward us.
A message from Selina read: BRING ME THE RECORDING, OR I’LL TELL THEM WHAT YOU DID FOR ROWAN AT THE BANK.
