4
Leaving Oakhaven, I stared at my remaining $22,000. How could I make $1,880,000 so
L
Speak of the devil. I estimated they’d
swindled me out of at least that much over
the years.
q b ty t k 7 7 7 6 $ 8 / 247
ミ
ミ
“Ashley! Mom said you’re buying us a house!”
Jenny squealed.
“Of course,” I said warmly. “You’re carrying
our family’s heir! You deserve the best.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t have! But for the baby…
thank you!”
I could practically hear her preening through
the phone. We arranged to meet at the
realtor’s office.
Mom, David, and Jenny were waiting,
beaming. They piled into my car.
く
“Ashley, I must have been a saint in my past
life to deserve such a daughter!” Mom
declared.
“Nah, Mom, I was the saint,” David chuckled.
“Look how much Ashley loves her nephew!”
Jenny simpered. “I’m so lucky. Ashley’s not
just my sister–in–law, she’s my best friend!
From college, remember?”
Mom beamed at them, the picture of familial bliss. I smiled, a chill behind my eyes.
“Family.” I’d risked my life for them. And
they’d tied me up and offered me as a
sacrifice. Their faces, twisted with greed and
fear, would forever haunt my nightmares.
