Tucker hesitated, then stopped and turned back.
In a room full of “family,” not one person noticed the blood soaking through the fabric over my knee.
At the end of the hallway, I took out my phone and dialed a number.
“Hunter.”
My voice was quiet.
“Can you come pick me up?”
There was a brief pause, then a low, amused voice.
“What, the young heiress finally remembered me?”
“Stay there,” he said. “I’ll be right there.”
Verity’s POV
Hunter Hutcherson and I grew up together. We’ve known each other since we were kids.
The people I can truly say I’m close to now—after everyone else has come and gone—are just him, my older brother, and Tucker.
After I got married, I almost completely lost touch with my old group of girlfriends.
So at this moment, the only person I could call was Hunter.
He arrived quickly. When he saw I was hurt, he rushed me to see a doctor, had my wounds treated, then drove me all the way home.
Along the way, I talked in bits and pieces about getting a divorce, about going to Canada.
Hunter didn’t try to talk me out of it, and he didn’t comfort me either. He just said casually,
“That’s good. The divorce package your mom prepared for you should be ready soon, too.”
I froze for a second and turned to look at him.
That’s when he explained that my mom and his mom had been best friends for years.
Before my mom passed away, she’d specifically told them that if my marriage ever fell apart and I chose divorce, everything she left behind was to be given directly to me.
“She said,” Hunter spoke evenly, “she didn’t want you relying on anyone. She wanted you to be able to live well on your own.”
My eyes immediately turned red.
So my mom had already thought everything through for me.
All the assets she prepared were premarital property. My dad didn’t even know about them.
She loved him, but she never fully trusted men—so she left everything to me.
Hunter added, almost as an afterthought, “And hey, about what happened back then, stop doubting your mom. She would never hurt anyone, and she definitely wouldn’t kill someone just to climb higher. Your parents dated overseas for a full year before getting married. People from that generation all know this.”
“It’s just that your brother was too stupid to bother checking.”
That was when I finally broke down, tears spilling uncontrollably.
The tight knot that had been sitting in my chest for years felt like it was finally being loosened.