racked with sobs. The powerful matriarch

ered, her voice choked with g

pouring out. The truth I had li

om her family' s company, Clarkson Tech, and fled the country. The stress and betrayal led

en Debra c

are startup, saving it from bankruptcy. I was a brilliant, hungry architect w

he survival of her company, her family' s name, and Molly' s future at my fe

rkson Tech and, piece by piece, I rebuilt it from the ground up. I

y her bedside, I helped with her physical t

to the empire I had saved for her and became a stay-at-home dad.

t gift w

ou loved her," Debra sobb

said, the coldness in my chest spre

eeping in the steri

ur house. A lavish, cold pen

drinking champagne. Molly and Wesley. T

g here?" Molly dem

e. "I baked this for Chloe. It' s her favorite. Gourmet pean

w. I have a severe, life-

slice with her fingers and shoved it towards my mouth. "A little allergi

sping for air. They watched, their faces impassive. Only when my visio

injecting the epinephrine into my thigh, Mo

es me full custody of Chloe. She

e was alive. She thoug

reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out

s death certi

ed in h

s scanned the words. "Date of Death."

here, his arm aro

th as poison. "Look at him. He' s desperate. It' s a sick

ened back into rage. My deception,

my house. And get rid of all of her things. I don'

they threw me into the hallway, I saw them through the open door, piling Chloe' s things in the middle of t

going to b