The Price Of Unspoken Love
oved to save him. Today, he walked back int
pend that time with my daughter, Kenzie. But I was being sued for custod
lawyer walked in. I
is client slapped me across the face. He threatene
will see you in court, and I will take every
dying. He only knew he hated me, and he now had a new fa
lies so he could have a future. But my sacrifice had turned him into a
ey and sent her far away. As he celebrated the birth of his
letter that would burn his
pte
Daniel
r loved to save him. Today, he walked back in
ss the polished mahogany table, Guadalupe Swanson, the sister of my deceased husband-of-convenience, da
ed deep in my bones. Leukemia, the doctors had said. A ticking clock I couldn't afford to watch. All I wanted w
nd publicity of a trial, hoping a quiet settleme
ed, and my world t
n Fl
his man was a stranger, sculpted from ice and ambition. His suit was impeccably tailored, his jaw set like stone, and his eyes-the same deep, soul
e silence. "There she is. The black widow. Look at h
fixed on the wood
her voice rising. "My brother was a good man, a saint, to ta
fifties, cleared her throat. "Mrs. Swanso
"I want compensation. For my brother' s emotional
adalupe," I said, my v
st my cheek, the force of it snapping my head to the side. The sting was sharp,
s he watched his client assault me. The Bryan I knew would have thrown
. I just absorbed the blow, my
any emotion. It was calm, measured, the voice of a lawyer commanding
streaked with rain and tears, begging me not to leave him. Th
in front of me with a soft thud. His fingers,
een us. I thought of the time he' d scribbled 'I will love Ellie Daniels forever' on a
s face, broken and confused as I spat the cruelest words I could conjure. "You were a charity case, B
my life, to protect him from the loan sharks and criminals my father' s ruin had unleashed.
seat but still vibrating with rage. "You owe us. If you ca
e roar building in my chest. "Y
rembled violently. The chemotherapy
It was a business arrangement. He needed a caregiver, and
screeched. "My b
l gaze on me. "Ellie Daniels. The great Ellie Daniels. I never thou
d. He knew exact
nt is willing to settle for five hundred thousand dollars. A small price to pay to keep yo
again of his face that last night, the way his shoulders slumped in defeat, the image of his broken s
ispered, the admission costing me what little
off, his voice like chipping ice. "This is a legal matt
ature line. "Sign it. Or I will see you in court, and I w
k. I wiped it away angrily. No. I wouldn't give him the s
as precious, and I would not spend it fighting a losing battle against the man
drain from my eye
is voice a low, chilling whispe
ips. "I know. I'm already a
creen photo of him and a beautiful, delicate-looking woman, her head resting on his shoulder. Addison Mcbride. Her family had o
He had a famil
tupid hope I' d clung to for six years-that maybe, s
badly that the bag slipped, its contents spilling across the floor. Lipsticks, loose change, and a doz
my face to the floor, then back up. A flicker of something-c
. "That girl, Kenzie. How old is she?" Before I could