“Just do not send that email.”
“The forty thousand dollars would not save you.”
I looked down at her.
“Ethan calculated more than seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars in fraudulent loans and unpaid debts attached to my identity.”
My mother stared at me.
“This includes forged documents, bank fraud, wire fraud, identity theft, and theft involving multiple companies.”
Julian leaned against the wall and covered his face.
“We’re ruined,” he whispered. “We’re completely ruined.”
“You ruined yourselves,” I replied. “You simply used my name to hide the consequences.”
I looked at the send button one final time.
I remembered Ethan’s careful notes and the way he had worked late at night to protect me.
I remembered Chloe’s laughter.
I remembered the rain falling as I stood between their coffins while my parents smiled beside the sea.
Then I pressed the button.
The phone made a soft chime.
