Chapter 1 – The Paper She Never Wanted Signed

Marcus didn’t move.

For several seconds, the only sound in the dining room was the faint ticking of the antique clock above the fireplace.

Then he looked at Katie.

“What paper, sweetheart?”

Katie’s face changed. She had spent three years believing she was doing the honorable thing. Now, standing beside the man she’d called Dad since she was eleven, she looked suddenly unsure of everything.

“The agreement,” she said. “Evelyn said you wanted everything settled before the wedding.”

Marcus turned toward his fiancée.

“What agreement?”

Evelyn adjusted the diamond bracelet on her wrist.

“It’s a personal matter, Marcus. We don’t need to discuss it in front of the staff.”

“Lauren stays.”

His answer was quiet.

Evelyn looked at me, then back at him.

“Fine. But Katie is making this sound much more dramatic than it was.”

Marcus held out his hand.

“Katie, may I see it?”

She opened her purse again.

I noticed how carefully she searched through it. There was a little container of hand cream, a bus pass, a package of tissues, and a folded piece of paper tucked inside an old birthday card.

She removed the paper.

“I wasn’t supposed to show you until after I made the last payment.”

“Who told you that?”

Katie didn’t answer.

She didn’t have to.

Marcus unfolded the document and began reading.

I stood near the sideboard, wishing I could disappear and knowing I couldn’t possibly leave.

The paper had a formal heading.

Family Financial and Personal Separation Agreement.

The language underneath was cold enough to make my skin prickle.

It stated that upon repayment of $42,000, Katherine Sullivan acknowledged the conclusion of all financial and personal obligations between herself and Marcus Anthony DeLuca.

She agreed not to represent herself publicly or privately as his daughter.

She agreed to discontinue using familial titles.

And she agreed not to seek residence, financial assistance, or inclusion in future family decisions.

Marcus read it twice.

Then he laid it flat on the table.

“Evelyn, explain this.”

She crossed her arms.

“It was meant to establish independence.”

“She’s twenty-four. She’s already independent.”

“Financially? She came to you for everything.”

Katie flinched.

Marcus noticed.

“Evelyn, don’t talk about her as though she isn’t sitting here.”

His fiancée’s cheeks reddened.

“You told me yourself that Katie needed to build a life outside this house.”

“I wanted her to finish school. Find work she loved. Make friends. That’s not the same as telling her she’s no longer my daughter.”

Katie stared at her hands.

“I thought you were tired of taking care of me.”

Marcus reached toward her, but she pulled her hands into her lap.

It was a small movement.

He looked more wounded by it than he had by anything Evelyn said.

“Did I ever tell you that?”

“No,” Katie whispered.

“Then why didn’t you ask me?”

She looked up.

“Because I thought asking would make you feel worse.”

Marcus opened his mouth, then closed it.

I could see the realization settling over him.

Katie hadn’t simply misunderstood a conversation.

She had been taught that loving him was a burden.

Evelyn stepped closer.

“Marcus, you have no idea how often she contacted me asking for things. Every time there was an expense, a problem with her apartment, an application fee—”

“Because you told me not to bother him,” Katie interrupted.

Evelyn stopped.

Katie’s voice was unsteady, but she continued.

“You said he had enough problems. You said I should come to you first.”

“And I helped you.”

“You charged me for it.”

The words surprised all of us.

Katie looked frightened by her own courage.

“Every time I asked for something, you added it to the balance.”

Marcus turned the document over.

“Where’s the itemized statement?”

Katie reached into her purse and handed him another page.

This one was written in her small, tidy handwriting.

Rent assistance.

Winter clothing.

College application fees.

Dental work.

Household expenses.

Beside each item was a dollar amount.

Marcus ran his finger down the list.

Then he stopped.

“Six hundred dollars for Christmas?”

Katie nodded miserably.

“That was the year you bought me the winter coat.”

Marcus looked toward the hallway.

I remembered that coat.

Dark green wool, with oversized buttons and a matching scarf. Katie had worn it the only other time I’d seen her.

Marcus had apparently chosen it himself.

“You loved that coat,” he said.

“I still have it.”

“Then why would you think I wanted you to pay for it?”

Katie’s eyes filled again.

“Evelyn said gifts were different when the person giving them wasn’t actually your parent.”

Marcus went very still.

Evelyn’s expression hardened.

“That is not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?” he asked.

She looked away.

For the first time, I saw something underneath her composure.

Not remorse.

Fear.

Marcus returned to the agreement.

“What happens after tonight?”

Katie swallowed.

“I give you the check. I stop coming here. I don’t send birthday cards anymore.”

He looked at her sharply.

“You’ve stopped sending birthday cards?”

She nodded.

“Last year.”

“I thought you’d forgotten.”

“I didn’t forget, Dad.”

Her voice broke.

“I bought one. I just wasn’t allowed to mail it.”

Marcus pushed back his chair.

I thought he might shout.

Instead, he walked to the window and stood there with his back to us.

After a moment, he asked, “How long have you been planning to disappear from my life?”

Katie wiped her face.

“Since Evelyn told me you were getting married.”

Evelyn lifted her chin.

“I was trying to protect our future.”

Marcus turned around.

“From my daughter?”

“From the situation you’ve never been willing to address.”

He looked down at the document again.

Then his eyes stopped moving.

There was a second page attached behind the agreement.

It contained a statement authorizing Evelyn to handle Katie’s financial arrangements on Marcus’s behalf.

And beneath it was a signature.

Marcus picked up the page.

He held it closer to the chandelier.

I watched his jaw tighten.

Katie whispered, “Dad?”

Marcus looked directly at Evelyn.

“Where did you get this?”

“From your office.”

“That’s my signature.”

“Yes.”

He stared at the paper.

Then he said something that made Evelyn’s face turn white.

“I recognize this signature. I also recognize the document you took it from.”

Share