PART 2
The Promise Beneath the Floorboards
The words blurred before my eyes as tears filled them. I forced myself to read again, convinced I had misunderstood.
If you’re reading this, it means I’ve already said goodbye. But before you decide what to believe about me, you deserve to know the truth.
The letter trembled between my fingers.
Across the polished mahogany desk, Carl’s lawyer sat in silence. Mr. Bennett was a narrow-faced man with silver hair and a habit of folding his hands as though every conversation were a negotiation. Yet there was no calculation in his eyes now. Only patience—and something that looked strangely like pity.
Outside his office, the city continued without us. Cars moved through wet streets. Elevators chimed. Somewhere in the building, a telephone rang twice before falling silent.
Inside that room, my entire life had stopped.
I lowered my eyes to the next paragraph.
