His Shadow, Her Betrayal, His Rise

I' d escaped, were still vivid, a galle

g Sarah that I' d been offered a prestigious fellowship to s

the keyboard. "That's nice, honey. But the launch for Phase II is in

d the fellowship committee and told them I was wi

e covers, hailed as a visionary. I was the man in the background of the photos, the one holding her

. I built him elaborate forts, taught him how to draw, read to him every night. But Sarah was a ghos

e' d give Lucas a quick, perfunctory kiss on the forehead before turnin

y would huddle over a tablet at the dining table while I clear

. He remembered her favorite coffee, handled her dry-cleaning, even bought her grandmother's birthday presents. He and Sarah had an easy intimacy, a

d to see it too. He saw who his mother looked to for

is math homework. He was getting frustrated. Alex walked

"Alex! Can you help me

any insult could. I was the one who was there every day, but Alex was the one he admired. He was the one associat

e. But I was the one dying, my body succumbing to a slow, wasting illness. Sarah was there, st

d at the foot of my bed. He

in the eye. "Alex is going to take me to my soccer tournament t

ess call and the retreating footsteps of my son, eager

I faded out in that vision, I made a silent, screaming vow. If I ever got another chance, I

I had tha