I asked about their estate—surely they'd left me something?
But Austin's answer came out halting, evasive.
"Everything happened so suddenly. Before I could sort out the inheritance, my enemies framed me and I ended up in prison."
"Now I finally have time to investigate what really happened back then."
His gaze flickered as he took my hand.
"Pearl, maybe your parents aren't really dead. Maybe there's still hope."
Ha.
The three-year mark was approaching. He'd lied to me about their deaths, and now he couldn't keep the story straight anymore.
So he pivoted—claimed there might be hope after all.
Too bad. He'd already squandered his last chance.
A few days later, Austin left under the pretense of a business meeting. In reality, he was going to see Kathy.
I watched the clock hands crawl toward midnight, then scattered sleeping pills across the floor.
My phone rang. Dr. Caldwell's voice was steady: "Everything's ready."
I nodded and sent Austin a message:
"Austin, your punishment wins. You wanted to stand up for Kathy? Fine. Take everything."
"Take my life too."
At that same moment, his phone buzzed relentlessly on the nightstand.
