Chapter 10 – A SHADOW FADES

I stared at the caller ID.

Old habits die hard. My heart skipped a beat.

I walked to the edge of the yard, away from Vincent and Clara, and answered.

“Hello?”

“Eleanor.”

The voice was faint, broken.

It took me a second to recognize it.

“Bianca,” I said softly.

Silence on the other end. Then, a shaky breath.

“They took everything, Eleanor. The feds seized the accounts. My brother is facing life. I have nothing.”

“Why are you calling me, Bianca?”

“Because,” she sobbed. “I don’t know how to survive without the life.”

I looked back at my husband. He was helping Leo bait a hook, laughing loudly.

Thirty years ago, I would have felt pity for the woman on the phone.

Yesterday, I would have felt rage.

Today, I felt nothing but a deep, profound sense of closure.

“You learn, Bianca,” I said gently. “You get a job. You buy a small apartment. You live a quiet life. It’s hard, but it’s real.”

“Vincent ruined me,” she cried.

“No,” I replied. “The life ruined you. Vincent just woke up before it could ruin him completely.”

“I hate you both.”

“I know,” I said. “Goodbye, Bianca.”

I hung up the phone.

I didn’t block the number. I didn’t need to. I knew she would never call again. The ghost of our past was finally put to rest.

I walked back to the truck.

Vincent looked at me, noticing the slight shift in my posture.

“Everything okay, Ellie?” he asked, wiping dirt from his hands.

“Everything is perfect,” I smiled.

And as we drove down the dirt road toward the water, Leo singing loudly in the backseat, I pulled an object from my purse.

The solid gold pocket watch.

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