The room fell silent.
I had never heard him raise his voice to his mother before.
For a moment, I thought Patricia might cry.
Instead, she pointed at me.
“She’s trying to destroy our family!”
Ryan spoke again.
“No, Mom. She’s telling me what you did.”
He ended the call.
I expected him to arrive within minutes.
Instead, my phone rang.
It was Ryan.
“Chloe, listen to me. Don’t leave the house yet. I’m coming.”
I looked at Patricia.
She was staring at the envelope in my hand.
“Give that back,” she whispered.
I shook my head.
“No. You offered it to me.”
“You can’t keep it.”
“Then perhaps you shouldn’t have offered it.”
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then Patricia said something I will never forget.
“You have no idea what will happen if Ryan finds out about his father.”
My heart began pounding.
“What does his father have to do with this?”
