Other times, she smiled too hard—eyes glassy, like she’d cried and washed her face before anyone noticed.
“Ethan’s just stressed,” she’d repeat, over and over, as if that explained everything.
“Come home,” I told her. “You’re safe with me.”
“It’ll get better,” she insisted. “Now that the baby’s coming… it’ll change.”
I wanted to believe her.
God, I wanted to believe her.
Back in the church, Ethan dropped into the front pew like he owned the place. He draped his arm around the woman in red and even chuckled when the priest said the words “eternal love.”
I felt sick.
That’s when I noticed a man standing from the side aisle—Michael Reeves, Emily’s attorney.
I barely knew him. Quiet. Serious. The kind of man who carried weight in his silence.
He walked forward holding a sealed envelope like it mattered.
Because it did.
When he reached the front, he cleared his throat.
“Before the burial,” he said firmly, “I am required to carry out a direct legal instruction from the deceased. Her will will be read… now.”
A ripple moved through the church.
Ethan scoffed.
“A will? My wife didn’t have anything,” he said smugly.
Michael looked at him—not with anger, but with certainty.
“I’ll begin with the primary beneficiary.”
Then he said my name.
“Margaret Carter, mother of the deceased.”
My knees nearly gave out. I grabbed the pew to steady myself.
Even in death… my daughter was still protecting me.
Ethan shot to his feet.
“What? That’s not possible. There’s a mistake.”
Michael calmly opened the envelope and began reading.
Emily had left everything to me—the house, her savings, her car, every dollar she had worked for.
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