Chapter 2 – The Golden Boy
Beckett Vale.
Golden boy. Charity board member. Real estate heir. Smile like polished marble.
He called me “Mrs. Calder” in public and “old woman” when he thought I was too far away to hear.
I should have seen it sooner.
The way Ella stopped laughing in rooms where he stood.
The way she asked permission with her eyes.
The long sleeves in July.
The sudden distance between us, built brick by brick with his soft voice and cruel hands.
At dawn, my phone rang.
Beckett.
I put it on speaker.
“Mara,” he said smoothly, “Ella had another episode. She gets dramatic when she drinks.”
Ella flinched.
I looked at her cracked feet, the bruises blooming along her wrist.
“Is that what happened?” I asked.
“She ran outside barefoot. I tried to stop her. Honestly, I’m worried about her mental stability.”
“How kind of you.”
A pause. He heard something in my voice then.
“I hope you’re not planning to make trouble,” he said.
May you like
I smiled at the fire.
“No, Beckett,” I said softly. “I’m planning to finish it.”
