Chương 14
After they left, Curtis closed the door and locked it.
He rested his forehead against the wood.
For a few seconds, he looked older.
Not richer.
Not arrogant.
Just tired.
I almost felt sorry for him.
Then he turned around.
“You shouldn’t have told them about the debt.”
And the sympathy vanished.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I’m trying to keep this contained.”
“No, you’re trying to keep it hidden.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“It is exactly the same thing.”
“They’re not going to hurt anyone.”
“They already know where you live.”
“This is my problem.”
“Then why did they know about me?”
Curtis said nothing.
I stepped closer.
“What did you promise them?”
“Nothing involving you.”
“That sentence has too many escape hatches.”
He looked irritated.
“I told them that once Dad died, the trust would be under my control.”
“And if it wasn’t?”
“I didn’t think about that.”
“Yes, you did.”
“No.”
“You applied for a credit line the morning after he died.”
His face tightened.
“You were planning.”
“I was trying to cover what I owed.”
“By borrowing more.”
“I needed liquidity.”
“You needed consequences.”
The sentence came out before I could stop it.
Curtis flinched.
For a moment, I hated myself for sounding like Arthur.
Then Curtis laughed bitterly.
“There he is.”
“What?”
“My father.”
He pointed at me.
“You sound exactly like him.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Well, congratulations.”
He moved into the living room.
“You got the house voice too.”
“What does that mean?”
“That quiet disappointment.”
“I’m not disappointed.”
He looked at me.
“I’m furious.”
That stopped him.
The words felt clean.
Not dramatic.
Not satisfying.
Just accurate.
“I’m furious that you lied about money.”
He looked away.
“I’m furious that you planned to leave me while I cared for your father.”
His jaw tightened.
“I’m furious that you threw me out like I was hired help.”
“I know.”
“No, you know it now because it cost you.”
He opened his mouth.
I kept going.
“And I’m furious that part of me is still standing here trying to figure out whether you’re safe.”
That one hurt.
Both of us heard it.
Curtis looked at me differently.
Not hopeful exactly.
But close.
“Vanessa.”
“Don’t.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For which part?”
“All of it.”
“That’s too easy.”
“It’s true.”
“Maybe.”
I picked up the evidence pouch Daniel had sealed.
“But truth arriving after a will reading is hard to trust.”
Curtis looked at the floor.
Daniel cleared his throat quietly.
“We should finish retrieving your belongings.”
The reminder felt almost absurd.
We had come for clothes.
We had found fraud records, a hidden compartment, and creditors at the door.
Life was rude that way.
It kept insisting laundry still mattered.
I went upstairs.
Daniel followed at a distance.
Curtis stayed downstairs.
In the bedroom, half my side of the closet was empty because he had packed carelessly.
The rest remained exactly where I left it.
A gray sweater.
Two dresses.
Shoes I had forgotten.
A scarf my sister gave me years ago.
I pulled out a suitcase and began filling it.
After ten minutes, Curtis appeared in the doorway.
He did not come in.
“I found your mother’s jewelry box.”
I stopped.
“Where?”
“Garage cabinet.”
“Why was it there?”
He looked ashamed.
“Security packed some things after you left.”
“Security?”
“I told them to clear the room.”
I stared at him.
That hurt in a new way.
He had not even packed everything himself.
He had outsourced the erasure.
“Bring it.”
He nodded and disappeared.
When he returned, he carried the small wooden box with both hands.
The lid was scratched.
I opened it.
My mother’s wedding ring was still inside.
So was the cheap silver bracelet she wore until the clasp broke.
I ran one finger over it.
Curtis watched me.
“I didn’t know that box mattered.”
“That’s the problem.”
“What?”
“You never asked what mattered.”
He looked down.
I closed the lid.
“Ninety minutes are almost up.”
“Stay longer.”
I looked at him.
“Your attorney wanted ninety.”
“I don’t care.”
“You cared when you thought the house was yours.”
His face tightened.
“It is still my home.”
“No.”
The word came easily.
“It is where you live.”
He stared at me.
I lifted the jewelry box.
“I’m leaving.”
“Vanessa.”
I stopped.
He stood in the doorway, stripped of all the confidence he had worn at the will reading.
“If I lose the trust, I can’t pay them.”
“That cannot be the reason I stay married to you.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
His voice broke slightly.
“I’m asking you to help me anyway.”
I looked at him for a long time.
There was the trap.
Not the money.
Not even the will.
The trap was that ten years of loving someone does not evaporate simply because they deserve your anger.
I could hate what Curtis had done and still remember how he used to make coffee too strong because he thought mine tasted like hot water.
I could know he had betrayed me and still notice that his hands were shaking.
I could leave and still worry what men like Evan Rourke did when they stopped knocking politely.
That contradiction hurt more than certainty would have.
“I’ll help you stay safe,” I said.
Hope flashed across his face.
I raised one hand.
“I am not saying I will save your inheritance.”
The hope disappeared.
“I am not saying I will stop the divorce.”
His jaw tightened.
“And I am not lying to Margaret so you can pretend we reconciled.”
Curtis looked away.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying if those men threaten you, tell Daniel.”
He laughed weakly.
“Your lawyer.”
“He seems to be the only person in this house making sensible decisions.”
“That’s insulting.”
“Yes.”
He almost smiled.
It vanished quickly.
I took my suitcase and walked past him.
At the top of the stairs, Daniel waited with the evidence pouch.
May you like
As we reached the foyer, my phone buzzed.
I expected another message from Curtis.
