He Deceived Me, So I Destroyed His Family's Legacy novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: One Visit

Lawson ate dinner in the dining room that night as if nothing had happened.

I sat across from him with a fork in my hand and Jonas standing behind my chair.

"The doctor says you're healthy," Lawson said. "Marissa says you were very cooperative this afternoon."

"I'm trying," I said.

I set my fork down and let my voice crack on the next words.

"Lawson, I'll do all of it. The rest cure, the gala, all of it."

"But Poppy is being moved on Monday, and I haven't seen her in six months."

He kept cutting his steak.

"You'll see her by video," he said.

"I need to see her," I said. "I need to hold her hand once before she's sent away. Then I'll stay in this house and you'll never hear another word from me."

Marissa lifted her wineglass and watched me over the rim.

"I don't think that's wise," she said. "Seeing the poor thing so ill might upset Annabel, and stress isn't good for the baby."

She had called it the baby, and she had said it without any trace of shame.

I looked at Lawson, and I let the tears I had been holding back come up.

"Please," I said. "She's all I have left."

Lawson put down his knife and studied me.

I could see him weighing my sister's bed against my tears, and I could see which way it fell.

"Saturday morning," he said. "Jonas drives you. Two hours, no more."

"You will not mention the pregnancy, the house or this conversation."

"And if she asks where you've been, you tell her you've been unwell."

"Thank you," I said.

I thanked my husband for letting me see my own sister.

Under the table, my hand was a fist in my lap, and the gray phone was sewn into the lining of my cardigan.

On Saturday the sky over Manhattan was white and low.

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