Chapter 19: Nothing in Return

Desmond's POV

I sat at the bottom of our own staircase that night and waited for her to open the envelope.

I had written it at four in the morning, on the floor of the spare room, and rewritten it three times.

I had called my lawyer at six and woken him.

Katja came in at nine, from Marit's car, with the envelope still sealed in her bag.

She took off her coat and hung it on the hook where she had always hung it.

Then she looked at me on the stairs and said, "Come into the kitchen."

I followed her.

She put the envelope on the table and slit it with a butter knife.

There were four things in it.

She laid them out in a row, as she laid out her brushes.

The first was the deed to the house on Lincoln Park, with her name alone on it.

The second was a ring of keys, the house, the garage and the safe, which I had never once given anyone.

The third was a transfer of thirty percent of Carrow Development to her, signed and witnessed.

The fourth was a letter from the trust, closing every strand of my mother's control, and a new one, naming Agnes's care as paid for life.

She read each page carefully.

I stood against the counter with my hands flat on the wood so that they would not shake.

When she finished, she squared the papers.

"What do you want in return?" she said.

"Nothing."

"Desmond."

"I mean it. I'm not buying anything. You can burn every page, and I'll still be sorry."

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