I bit down hard, fists clenched. “I don’t want your money. I want Piper to be held accountable for what she’s done.”
He chuckled, a smug little breath through his nose. “Go ahead. Let’s see which law firm dumb enough to take that case and face me in court.
“Know your place.” Then his eyes narrowed. I won’t have a hysterical lunatic as my wife. This ends now.”
His phone rang. He glanced at the screen—and just like that, his face lit up.
“A gift? From you? That’s so thoughtful. Honestly, those clients only signed because of you.”
“What? No ride? Don’t worry, I’m coming to pick you up right now. Just stay put.”
He didn’t even look back at me as he walked out.
I stared at the door as it closed behind him. My tears burned down my cheeks like acid.
Fine. If this is how it’s going to be—so be it.
I just stood there, staring after the man I used to love, tears burning down my face. Fine. If that’s how he wanted to play it—then so be it.
I turned to pack my bags. But then the phone rang again.
“Miss Ward,” the paralegal said cheerfully, “since you’ve dropped the charges in your mother’s case, we’re closing our investigation. Just letting you know.”
###Chapter 2
I froze. Dropped the charges? What the hell were they talking about?
I rushed to the law firm as fast as I could. But by the time I got there, the file—my mother’s case file—was already shredded into confetti.
Everything blurred. I collapsed to my knees, grabbing the lawyer’s sleeve, my voice breaking.
“You promised. You said you’d help me get justice for my mother!”
The lawyer looked uncomfortable and let out a long sigh.
“The person who withdrew the complaint… was your husband. Mr. Marks. None of us are in a position to go against him. I’m truly sorry.”
And just like that, with a small nod, he had security drag me out into the street.
But I wasn’t giving up.
There had to be someone in this godforsaken city who still had a spine.
Hands shaking, I called every top law firm I could find. One by one, they turned me away. The replies were all the same.
“Sorry, Miss Ward. Mr. Marks made it very clear—anyone who touches that case is out of business by morning. We can’t help you.”
I dropped to the pavement. My palm landed on jagged concrete, blood seeping from the cut—yet I barely felt a thing.
When I was sixteen, my father threw Mom and me out. The same day, Piper and her mother moved in.