Chapter 6 - Stripped Bare
Ethan and Madison turned to stare at me, both panting, both looking utterly broken and pathetic amidst the luxury they had stolen.
“Both of you, get off my property,” I said, pointing toward the iron gates.
“Claire...” Ethan whimpered, taking a step toward me, reaching out his hands like a begging child. “Claire, please... I’m the victim here too! She set me up! She manipulated me! We can start over! We can hire the best doctors now! Dr. Vale can help us! We can have our own real baby!”
I looked at Ethan—the man I had once thought was the love of my life. I felt no hate. I felt no lingering desire for revenge. I felt only a profound, liberating disgust.
“You aren't a victim, Ethan,” I said, looking him dead in the eye. “You were greedy. You were cruel. The second you thought I couldn't give you what you wanted, you threw me away like trash. You didn't investigate. You didn't support me. You stood on a hospital floor two hours ago and called me a useless woman in front of dozens of people.”
“I didn't mean it!” Ethan sobbed, falling to his knees beside Madison. “I was hurt!”
“You meant every word,” I replied smoothly. “And now you get to live with the consequences.”
Sarah Vance stepped forward, holding out two legal notices. “Mr. Hayes, Ms. Evans, you are officially served with criminal summonses for conspiracy to commit medical fraud, perjury, and non-profit funds conversion. The Fulton County Sheriff’s office has an arrest warrant ready if you do not surrender your passports by 5:00 PM today.”
Ethan slumped onto the grass beside Madison. The two of them, who had stood together one year ago to strip me of my dignity, now sat in the dirt, ruined, disgraced, and completely alone.
May you like
I turned my back on them, walked up the grand stone steps of my home, and stepped through the double oak doors.
Behind me, the heavy doors clicked shut, closing out the screams, the tears, and the pathetic pleas of the ghosts of my past.
