The Do Not Resuscitate Order

Chapter 2 The Boy Who Cried Wolf

The car left me at the Moretti villa. For years, we had called the decorated cage our home. I crossed the marble foyer barefoot and left damp prints on the polished stone.

I passed the stairs to my bedroom and kept going.

In Arthur’s study, I sat behind his oak desk and called my lawyer.

“Finalize my will. Everything reverts to the Pierce family trust, effective today.”

After the call, I looked at the silver-framed wedding photographs. In every one, our smiles were posed and Arthur's hand sat neatly at my waist.

The industrial-grade shredder he used for corporate documents stood in the corner.

I twisted off my wedding ring. Arthur had once called the diamond unbreakable, just like his promise. I had believed him. The band left a pale groove around my finger.

My drawer held three years of medical files: consultations, scans, blood tests, and diagnoses. I carried the stack to the shredder.

The ring went in first. Then I fed the pages through in handfuls. The motor ground the diamond and paper into gray dust that spilled over the bin.

A black umbrella leaned beside the French doors. Victor, Arthur’s quiet half-brother, had brought it to me months ago when my driver was late on a rainy afternoon.

He waited until I was under cover, said the rain was getting worse, and left without asking for anything.

The study door hit the wall. Felix, Arthur’s best friend and the city’s top cardiologist, crossed the room and slapped a file onto the desk.

His signature appeared on too many of my consultations for him to deny what had been in that drawer.

He tapped the blood report. “Your troponin was artificially elevated. What did you inject to fake cardiac distress? Walking out was a nice touch. You still won't keep him from Lily.”

Felix never got as far as checking my heart. My old lie was all the proof he wanted.

Arguing would only cost me breath.

I slid over the asset-return agreement my lawyer had emailed.

“Since you're here, witness this. Every asset Arthur gave me during our marriage goes back to his estate.”

Felix read the heading twice. “What is this?”

“I'm tying up loose ends.”

The door opened again. Arthur stood there in a pressed suit. His eyes moved from Felix to the agreement, then to the metallic dust spilling from the shredder.

At last, he noticed my bare ring finger.

“What is this supposed to achieve?” he asked. “First the hospital, now my study. Who are you threatening, Evelyn?”