“Did they expect me to sell the house?”
She hesitated.
“We don’t know exactly what they expected. But the communications suggest they anticipated a confrontation.”
I closed my eyes.
Trevor’s fists.
Kristen’s silence.
The bruises.
The humiliation.
Had Malcolm known my son might hurt me?
Had Daniel?
And if they had, why hadn’t anyone stopped him?
***
That evening, Trevor called.
His voice sounded different.
Quieter.
“Mother.”
I stared at the phone.
“What do you want?”
For several seconds, he didn’t answer.
Then he whispered, “Kristen left.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“She took the children to her parents.”
I closed my eyes.
Trevor had two children.
Seven-year-old Lily.
And ten-year-old Mason.
I loved them fiercely.
Whatever their parents had done, I didn’t want the children pulled into the middle of it.
“Are they safe?”
“Yes.”
I exhaled.
Then Trevor said something unexpected.
“Malcolm told me you were going to sell Cedarline without leaving me anything.”
