. CHAPTER 6 — Walter Monroe’s Secret
Walter Monroe arrived at the hospital with a cane in one hand and a storm in his eyes.
At seventy-four, Ethan’s father was supposed to be retired, delicate, protected from stress. No one who had ever negotiated with Walter believed that. He entered the waiting area wearing a gray overcoat and the expression of a man who had once bought an airline because a flight attendant was rude to his wife.
“Where is my daughter?” Walter demanded.
Ethan stood. “Khloe is resting.”
Walter’s face softened by an inch. “And my grandchild?”
“Stable.”
Walter exhaled. Then he turned toward Vanessa, who sat between two officers, still wrapped in the hospital blanket, trying to look persecuted.
The softness disappeared.
“You,” Walter said.
Vanessa straightened. “Mr. Monroe, this has been exaggerated. Khloe became emotional. I was trying to protect the family—”
Walter lifted one finger.
Vanessa stopped.
“I protected this family for fifty years,” Walter said. “Do not insult me by calling cruelty protection.”
Her lips trembled. “I only wanted what was best for Ethan.”
“No,” Walter said. “You wanted Ethan. There is a difference.”
Ethan looked at his father. He had not expected him to understand so clearly. Walter had approved of Vanessa once. Everyone had.
Walter reached into his coat and removed a folder. “Ethan, I was going to give you this at dinner tonight.”
Ethan frowned. “What is it?”
“The final transfer documents for the Monroe Foundation estate division. The mansion. The charitable holdings. The medical trust.” Walter looked toward Khloe’s hospital room. “All placed under Khloe’s leadership.”
Vanessa stood so fast the blanket slipped from her shoulders. “What?”
Walter did not glance at her. “Your wife was the only person in this family who treated our patients like human beings instead of photographs for tax benefits.”
Ethan stared at the folder.
Khloe did not know. No one had told her.
Walter continued, “Vanessa thought she was fighting for a house. She was standing in the future headquarters of the woman she attacked.”
The hallway fell silent.
Vanessa’s face became something ugly and young. “You can’t give it to her. She’s nobody.”
Walter finally looked at her.
“That,” he said, “is why I did.”
Behind them, the hospital room door opened.
Khloe stood there in a robe, pale but upright, one hand on the wall.
“I’m not nobody,” she said quietly.
Ethan moved to help her.
May you like
She did not look at Vanessa. She looked at Walter.
“And I never wanted her life.”
