CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 6
By noon, Brittany had called two lawyers, one realtor, and Eric’s old business partner.
By two, she had packed three suitcases and threatened to “destroy” Eric in court.
By four, Howard’s attorney arrived with copies of every document.
The house transfer was legal. The trust was untouchable. The accounts Brittany controlled were not nearly as powerful as she had pretended.
But the worst part, for Brittany, was not losing the house.
It was losing the audience.
Eric stood beside his father in the living room while she screamed about betrayal, sacrifice, and everything she claimed she had done for him.
Howard said nothing.
That made her angrier.
“You think he loves you?” Brittany snapped at Eric, pointing at Howard. “He hid money from you for years.”
Eric looked at his father.
Howard did not defend himself.
He did not need to.
“He hid it from the version of me that would’ve handed it to you,” Eric said.
Brittany’s mouth opened, then closed.
The room went still.
For the first time, Eric sounded like the man Howard remembered.
Brittany’s eyes filled with tears, but they were not soft tears. They were furious tears. Tears that came because the world had stopped arranging itself around her.
“You’ll come crawling back,” she said.
Eric looked at the trash can where the dog bowl sat beneath coffee grounds and paper towels.
“No,” he said. “I already did that for three years.”
Brittany left before sunset.
She slammed the door hard enough to shake the family photos on the wall.
May you like
One frame fell crooked.
Howard walked over slowly and straightened it.
