Heartbreak and a Hollowed Home

said, his voice smooth and con

em up for life. He described a future with a bigger house, a better li

here Liam slept soundly. She trusted Mark. She love

ccount was now empty. She handed the thick envelope of cash to Mark without a secon

at first, but it quickly grew worse. His small body felt hot to

was grim as he looked at the test results. He spoke in a low

ed. "A congenital defect. He

n process it. All she heard was "immediately." She fumbled f

doctor said he needs an operati

Mark finally spoke, his voice was cold, distant. "The

tightened her chest. "Mark, this is l

siness deal. I can't just pull out. He's proba

phone, the silence screaming in her ears

g from six in the evening until two in the morning. After a few hours of restless

ed went into a growing pile of cash in a shoebox under her bed. It was never enough.

d to his side, but it was too late. Her son, her beautiful baby boy, died in a sterile hospital room while sh

spoke in hushed, sympathetic tones about caskets and se

spered. "I can't a

Liam's ashes in a plain cardboard box. It was all she could afford. She

ariness that went bone-deep, she saw him. Mark. He was standing outsi

s office parties. Jessica White. As Sarah watched, frozen on the sidewalk, Mark presented Jessica with

him. They looked happy, carefree. They looked li

was no business venture. There was only Jessica. He had taken their life savings,

She pulled a suitcase from the closet and started packing. A fe

door opened. It was Mark. His face

soft with feigned worry. He rushed to her side, trying to take the s

g but a cold, empty void. He followed her out of the apartment, begging her to stay.

rusting it at her in front of the director. "Here," he said loudly, his voice fi

The funeral director looked at Sarah with sympathy. Humiliation burned in her cheeks, ho

his. His skin felt alien. She paid the bill, her movements sti

y mobile hung over the empty crib. A tiny pair of shoes sat by the door. She remembered painting these

of a life she thought sh