Chapter 2 - The Secret Widow
I stared at the death certificate resting beside the demand list.
The official seal of Ohio was stamped over my father's name.
My hands began to shake uncontrollably.
I asked my mother how she could keep this a secret from her own daughter.
She did not shed a single tear.
She simply adjusted her beige cardigan and sat up straighter.
She said I lost the right to know about family matters when I abandoned them for Marcus.
Marcus stepped between us.
He told her she had five seconds to explain why she was really here.
She pointed at the list and said the money was her rightful widow's inheritance.
She claimed my father died completely bankrupt.
She said the bank had already foreclosed on the family home in Milfield.
I looked at the massive total on her folded paper.
It suddenly made sense why she swallowed her pride to visit the daughter she disowned.
I told her she was not getting a single penny from my family.
I grabbed her carry-on bag and dragged it toward the front door.
I demanded that she leave my house immediately.
She did not move from her chair.
She smiled a cold, calculating smile.
She pulled her cell phone from her purse and unlocked the screen.
She told me I would pay the money willingly once I saw what she possessed.
She slid the phone across the kitchen island toward me.
May you like
I looked at the screen and felt the blood drain from my face.
It was a live video feed of my children's elementary school playground.
