Patricia answered without hesitation.
“Then make people think she’s losing her mind.”
“An old woman showing up dressed like that already looks ridiculous.”
“A few more incidents…”
“…and people will believe anything.”
I quietly pressed Record again.
Every word.
Every sentence.
Every confession.
The following morning Ethan arrived at my home in Belle Meade looking exhausted.
He hadn’t slept.
He sat across from me at the breakfast table exactly the way he had as a little boy whenever he’d accidentally broken something and was afraid to tell me.
“I’m calling off the wedding.”
I calmly stirred my coffee.
“No.”
His head snapped upward.
“…What?”
“I’m not canceling it.”
“You aren’t either.”
He stared at me.
“Mom…”
“They humiliated you.”
“They planned this.”
“I know.”
“Then why—”
“Because canceling the wedding today gives Vanessa exactly what she wants.”
He frowned.
“I don’t understand.”
I slid a blue folder across the table.
