Chapter 9
Caleb sighed.
“We’ve been over this.”
“No.
We haven’t.”
His expression hardened.
“You’re embarrassing yourself.”
I thought about the marriage certificate resting against my palm.
I thought about the years of birthdays and holidays and whispered promises.
Then I looked directly at him.
“Perhaps I should start asking questions you’ve never had to answer.”
For one brief moment, real fear crossed his face.
Then it disappeared.
“You’re confused.”
“I’m very clear about one thing.”
I lifted my chin.
“I’m not signing anything.”
Caleb’s jaw tightened.
“Eleanor—”
“No estate release.
No company proxy.
No amendment.
Nothing.”
Vanessa took a small step backward.
Caleb looked from me to Mr.
Harlan.
“This is your doing.”
Mr.
Harlan remained calm.
“Eleanor has the right to consult independent counsel before signing any document.”
“She’s my wife.”
“That does not give you the right to make her decisions.”
Caleb laughed bitterly.
“She’s eight months pregnant, her father just died, and she’s having some kind of breakdown.”
I felt my daughter move.
The sensation steadied me.
“Then perhaps you should stop shouting at me in my father’s funeral chapel.”
His mouth opened.
No words came out.
For the first time in our marriage, I had interrupted the role he expected me to play.
The quiet wife.
The trusting wife.
The wife who apologized whenever he became angry.
I turned away.
Mr.
Harlan arranged for a security officer to remain nearby while I returned to the chapel.
Caleb did not follow.
The burial took place beneath a gray afternoon sky.
I stood beside my father’s grave while rain gathered on the leaves of the surrounding trees.
Mr.
Harlan stood a respectful distance away.
I placed one white rose on the coffin before it was lowered.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” I whispered.
I wasn’t sure what I was apologizing for.
Perhaps for believing Caleb.
Perhaps for not understanding the warning.
Perhaps for being angry at the man who had tried to protect me.
My daughter’s foot pressed against my ribs.
I rested my hand over the movement.
“I’ll figure it out,” I promised.
After the mourners departed, Mr.
Harlan approached.
“Your father left something else for you.”
I looked up.
“He told me that when you received the sealed packet, you would know it was time to use the key.”
My heart skipped.
“The brass key?”
He nodded.
“Robert said you would understand where to look.”
I reached beneath the collar of my dress.