d at that moment, Annabelle's p

and your mother was badly in

eely from her eyes and nose, but she didn't care about decency. She flashed back to the heated argument

said to me was that I disappointed him? No, it

cket. She faced Officer Martinez, "Can you take me to

ry for your loss, Miss Bennett, but there was no mistake ab

connected to several machines. Her face was pale and swollen with purple bruises on her cheekbones, and her entire left arm and left leg was wrapped in a cast. She

r and gently brushed her fingers over Elizabeth's hands. It was so cold, it was hard to believe it was these hands that hugged h

tly behind him. A doctor and a nurse arrived shortly af

doctor, explained. "We've induced a coma while waiting for the swelling in he

a corrected, her voice a

e meaning of her words. "We're doin

"How long will it take

. Brain injuries a

her own ears. "What do I need to do now?

nurse beside him. "Miss Bennett, I thin

was cramped with medical journals everywhere. It was like a teenager's disorg

rs the initial treatment, but the intensive care she'll need from specialists, rehabilitation if she... sorry, wh

around the room tilt

dred and fifty thousand dollars. If she requires long-term ca

maybe eight hundred dollars in her account after paying rent. Her father had said her lov

said, although she didn'

at the accounting section.

te. Twenty-five thousand dollars for just one day of treatment. And then

er laptop, pawn all of her and her mother's jewelry, and in time, put up the house for sale. She tried totaling everything mentally a

ewhere. He was one of the big-shot lawyers in Boston. She went

palm, "I should have thought of this first inste

rving career, that means he earns tons of mone

m nothing over twenty-five years. She remembered many trips to her father's of

had always been proud of the empire her father had built here. She had

ld announce herself. Her father's business partner was a tall, thin man wi

her the way he'd always done. "I'm so sor

owed despite the depth of it in her. "Eugene, I came to ask you

ed in disappointment. "You don't know,

sive. Law books lined the shelf on the walls, and two neat piles of legal brie

d you like

kay, t

out preamble. "There were irregularities in some client accounts, so the dis

"He didn't mention

guys worry." Eugene took a large swallow of scotch. "In fact, we were supposed to

" Anna

ne set down his glass and rubbed his temples. "Your father was my best friend for twenty years. He was the

ney are we t

wo millio

l blow. Two million dollars. No wo

t I think it means?

ong to resolve. And until then, you can't touch the house, cars, and his bank accounts." Eugene leaned

e, and now she was practically penniless until lawyers and accountants sorted through James Ben

" she said

assured I'll do my best

alking toward the

pty of ideas on