Chapter 2 - THE HOUSE WAS NEVER HIS
I carried Ethan upstairs.
He refused to let go of me.
Even while I cleaned his knees in the bathroom, his hands stayed wrapped around my wrist.
“Did Grandma make you crawl?”
He nodded.
“For how long?”
His lower lip shook.
“I don’t know.”
“Where was Daddy?”
“Talking to Brooke.”
The name burned.
I cleaned another scrape.
Ethan winced.
“Did anyone hit you?”
He hesitated.
That hesitation scared me more than a yes.
“Baby, tell Mommy.”
“Grandma grabbed me.”
“Where?”
He pointed to his arm.
I rolled up his pajama sleeve.
Four red finger marks circled his upper arm.
I stopped breathing.
“Mommy?”
“I’m okay.”
I wasn’t.
I photographed everything.
His knees.
His arm.
His dirty clothes.
Then I texted the photos to my attorney, Sarah Mitchell.
CALL ME NOW.
My phone rang thirty seconds later.
“Amanda?”
“I need Richard removed from the house.”
Sarah went silent.
“Immediately?”
“Tonight if possible.”
“What happened?”
“My husband brought his mistress and their baby into my home.”
A pause.
“And?”
I looked at Ethan.
“My mother-in-law punished Ethan by forcing him to crawl across the floor.”
Sarah’s voice changed.
“Document everything.”
“Already did.”
“Do you still have the security system?”
“Yes.”
“Cloud backup?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
I stared toward the bedroom door.
“What about the house?”
“You own seventy percent.”
“My father’s trust owns the other thirty.”
“Exactly.”
“So Richard owns nothing.”
“Correct.”
A slow breath left my lungs.
“And the company?”
Sarah paused again.
“Amanda, did he ever read the restructuring agreement?”
“No.”
“Then Richard may be about to have the worst week of his life.”
A knock came at the door.
Richard.
“Amanda, open up.”
I ended the call.
“Stay here, sweetheart.”
Ethan grabbed me.
“No.”
“I’m not leaving.”
I opened the door only a few inches.
Richard looked furious.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Taking care of our son.”
“He’s not—”
I opened the door wider.
“Finish that sentence.”
He stopped.
“What?”
“You were about to say he isn’t your son.”
Richard rubbed his face.
“I’m tired.”
“You told him he wasn’t family.”
“I was angry.”
“At a four-year-old?”
“He’s not biologically mine.”
There it was.
I felt something cold move through me.
“You knew that before we married.”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“I thought we’d have our own children.”
I stared at him.
“I almost died giving birth to Ethan.”
“That was before me.”
“You adopted him.”
Richard looked away.
“Legally.”
My blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
“It means paperwork doesn’t change biology.”
Behind him, Brooke appeared in the hallway.
She was holding Chloe.
“You should calm down.”
I looked at her.
“You should leave my house.”
Richard stepped forward.
“She stays.”
“No.”
“She and Chloe have nowhere else tonight.”
“Then get a hotel.”
“This is my house too.”
“No, Richard.”
I smiled.
“That’s the funny part.”
His face hardened.
“What funny part?”
“You never read the deed.”
He stared at me.
I closed the door.
Then I heard Vivian downstairs.
“Richard!”
A second later came another voice.
Male.
Professional.
“Mr. Whitman?”
I recognized it immediately.
Sarah had moved faster than I expected.
Richard turned.
May you like
Two sheriff’s deputies stood in my foyer.
And one of them was holding an eviction notice.
