Chapter 9: The Phone Call
Russell called me directly one evening, months after the divorce was final.
His voice was different—smaller, tired.
“I made a mistake, Maren. I want to see Felix more. He’s my son.”
I kept my voice calm.
“You have supervised visitation that you stopped using. The court knows why.”
There was a long pause.
“Jessica left. The house is gone. I have nothing left.”
I looked at Felix doing homework at the kitchen table, laughing at something my father had said.
“You had everything,” I said. “You chose to throw it away. Don’t call me again unless it’s through the attorney about Felix.”
I hung up.
That night I sat on the porch with my parents and watched the stars. The $650,000 house I had paid for was now truly ours. The money I had sent for five years was finally being used for the family I had sacrificed for.
Russell had smiled until one phone call took everything away.
May you like
I had never needed to raise my voice.
The truth and the law had done it for me.
