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My heart sank.George…Had he…
No,it couldn’t be.Even without Ethan’s help,the driver’s blood should have saved him.
Emily seemed to read my thoughts,turning away,trembling.“Dad’s gone.Ethan drove him to his grave.”
It was like my blood drained,leaving me cold.I wanted to cry but couldn’t.
Ethan entered,kneeling,slapping himself.“I killed Dad.I’m not human.I’m a disgrace to the family.”
He crawled to my bed,sobbing,“Claire,I shouldn’t have doubted you.You never lie.I was blind.”
Emily spun,slapping him.“Blind?You’re a monster!You believed Sophie's lies andthen hit Claire like that?Get out!I never want to see you again!”
Ethan begged,still defending Sophie.“She didn’t mean it.She was worried about me…”
I hurled a fruit basket at him.When he didn’t leave,I splashed boiling water from my cup at him.He deserved to die.
He staggered out,scalded.
I held Emily close,crying together for three long days and nights.
George,you left me.I’m an orphan again,all alone.
No,I still had Emily.
I’d been selfish,ignoring her grief.
Wiping my tears,I forced a crooked smile for her.
A week later,we held George’s funeral.Only a few people came, but the driver was there, blaming himself for arriving late.
But he came to save a life.How could he be at fault?
Ethan and Sophie also showed up.Knowing George wouldn’t want them there,I chased them out with a broom.
Ethan called me heartless,saying I kept him from his father’s funeraland that I'd caused George's death by making him angry.
Sophie,emboldened,sneered,“Your cursed fate killed him.A lone star,doomed to destroy your family.”
I stared at their vile faces,smirking,and doused them with white paint.
George wouldn’t mind,right?Let me be reckless this once,for leaving us.
After,I signed the divorce papers and sent them to Ethan,vowing never to see him again.
The driver visited me again,mentioning he’d driven George that morning.George was heading to Ethan’s office with an urgent file but got a call and left halfway.
Something felt off,he said,unable to keep it from me.
After he left,I took out George's phone, which I'd kept as a memento.
On that fateful day, he had only made one call.
