The bank teller counted the cash. Five million dollars.
All of it.
Every penny Dean and Ethan had ever given me, every ounce of my carefully built nest egg, now a mountain of potential freedom for my son.
As I was about to leave the bank, my phone buzzed relentlessly.
Dean.
“Fiona, don’t leave the house. Don’t do anything stupid.” Dean’s voice was low, a growl I knew meant he was losing his cool. “If anyone calls, let me know immediately.”
Ethan’s call followed almost immediately, a mirror image of Dean’s, but colder, more calculated. “Fiona, stay put. If they contact you, let me know. I have resources.”
Their warnings were suffocating. Typical. Each wanting the upper hand, jockeying for position, even in this desperate moment.
Their rivalry was as predictable as the sunrise, an
