Robert sat on the bench across from me, covering his face with both hands.
"Emily, I didn't know she would do this," he said.
"You had her give the gold pendant to Richard," I said.
"I thought Grace wouldn't need it," he replied.
"You also had me sign the loan documents," I said.
He hung his head.
"Grace called begging you to be there for her, and you said life and death are all just fate. Robert, you always say you didn't know, yet every single thing that hurt her involves you," I said.
The emergency room door opened. Grace was awake.
Seeing Robert, she instinctively shrank into my arms.
"Mommy, don't let Daddy take me away," she said.
The last glimmer of strength died in Robert's eyes.
From two steps away, he asked softly, "Grace, don't you want to live with Daddy?"
Grace sho
