Betrayed By Love, Rebuilt By Fate

ealing balm on my raw nerves. Grandma Eleanor and I carefully placed my mother's cornerstone i

someone. His name was Ben, a local carpenter who was restoring an old barn down the road. He had kind eyes and sawdust in his hair. He didn't know who I was, or if he did, he did

one call. An unknown number. I almost didn'

va

instantly reco

ant?" I asked,

ee how you were doing. I

. No than

ion," he whined. "The pressure was im

s to save yourself. I underst

and more famous. People are calling her a national treasure. She's starting her

flatly. "Is there a

ink I made a mi

his number. He was a ghost from a past life, and I

back from my walk. He didn't press, just han

uld say

on the porch swing. "Whoever it was,

complete opposite of Liam's shallow

onnections. Nothing illegal, not yet. But it showed a pattern. Chloe had a knack for being in the right place at the right

starting to show the strain of neglect, a problem exacerbated by the fallout from the Olympia collapse, which had put all major projects on hold. The media began to murmur. Where were the experts? Why was nothi

opportunist, s

oadcast on every major network. She sat on a plush

with emotion. "The political squabbling, the delays... pe

Ava, to come back. Please, Ava. I know you're hurting. I know you feel betrayed. But the

one, holding a grudge while people's lives were at stake. If I accepted, I would be working under her shadow, the 'reformed vil

weren't forgiving me for the crime I never committed; they were forgivi

forth in my grandmother's living

anor said calmly, not looking up from

t was an encrypted message fr

ogram installed on your work computer. The IT guy who installed it was her ex-boyfriend. He owed her money. She had access to everything you w

words blurring together. M

ylog

statingly effective. It wasn't a miracle. It

. She had committed a

ad found the crack

as still on, looking beatific and f

et. "Call your friend Mark. Tell him to fin

watching me with a worried e

sure? It's a

across my face. "But this time, I'm not going

lled the news station that

ocked producer who answered. "Put me o