When Love Poisons Your Dream

ow was the grand opening. I stood in the center of the dining room, a space I had designed, funded, and built with my own two hands, a

she whispered, her chin

," I corrected her,

chimed. A man in a crisp suit holdi

with a clinical coldness. "I'm from the Department of Health.

nspection the day before opening

g a professional smile. "Le

ally scrubbed every surface. But the inspector wasn't looking at the surfaces. He walked straight to the walk-in ref

y and mottled, reeking of decay.

?" he asked,

h shock. "I... I've never s

like a death sentence. Within an hour, a bright orange notice was sla

s site, next to headlines that screamed "Chef's Dream Restaurant a Health Hazard" and "Maggots and Rats in Fine Dining Kitchen." They called me

f relentless work, was destroyed in a sin

s of the crowd still ringing in my ears. I needed Sarah. I

ying, but on the phone, her back t

Mark. Better than

l? The man who built his entire car

od frozen in the doorwa

small, cruel laugh in her voice. "You should ha

st hear Mark's smug v

ain. "I moved the last of it this morning. He never

ds I had poured my life's savings into. The fun

as the talent, but not the killer instinct. Not like you. Not like us. This was a mercy killing for his career, really. N

self from my lack of ambition. All the love I thought we had, all the sacrifices I

nt quiet. She turned around slowly, her eyes widening when she s

breathed. "

ad. I staggered forward, my hand reaching for the doorframe to steady myself, but my

owed me was Sarah's face, her expression not o

e blinding. A doctor with a kind, tired face was

e a severe concussion. You were lucky.

world had move

t," I rasped,

has permanently revoked your food license,

asn't just my restaurant that was gone. It was my name

sharp, cut through the fog. They thought I was weak. They th

d do things a li

world, I might as well make it official. I needed to disappear. I needed to w

ble. My fingers trembled as I dialed a number I knew by

with a thick French a

rely a whisper. "It's Ethan. I nee