The Perfect Husband's Darkest Secret novel · Chapter 9 of 24

Chapter 9: Look at the Pillar

I met my sister at the gate alone.

Ansel stood in the dark kitchen window with his arms folded, close enough to hear.

I pressed record on my phone and slid it into my sweater pocket.

Camille stood under the porch light in a gray coat with her hair pulled back.

She had been crying for a while.

Her mascara was gone, and her nose was red.

"Thank you for coming out," she whispered. "I didn't think you would."

"You have five minutes."

"I know." She pressed her hands together. "I made a terrible mistake, Em."

I waited.

"I let Dalton talk me into it," she said. "He told me you were sick. He told me the journals would help the doctors. I copied your handwriting because I wanted you to get the care you needed. I never thought it would go this far."

"The journals are forty pages."

"I was worried."

"You were thorough," I said.

She took a small silver tin out of her coat and held it out with both hands.

"I brought you a peace offering," she said. "It's the chamomile you like. It will help you sleep."

I looked at the tin.

It was the same shape as the one by my bed for seven months.

I took it from her without a word.

Her shoulders loosened.

"Let me see Poppy tomorrow," she said, "and I'll go to the judge and say the journals were my fault. I'll say it was a misunderstanding. All I want is my niece. Dalton can have the company, and you can keep her."

"Keep her."

"You can have Poppy, Em. You don't need the shares. You never wanted them."

I said nothing.

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