Chapter 4 - THE REBUILDING
The following month was spent in the shadow of the scandal. I stayed at the mansion, acting as a buffer for Ethan. We spent our evenings in the library, the very room where he had once studied as a child. He was different now—less trusting, more observant.
"I don't want to be in the city for a while," he told me one rainy Tuesday. "Everything here reminds me of the charade."
"Then go to the coast," I suggested. "The house in Maine is quiet. It always helps to clear your head near the water."
"Come with me," he asked.
May you like
It was the first time in years he had asked me to be a part of his quiet life. He had been so busy building his empire that he had forgotten the person who had given him the blueprint for it. I realized that my plan to spy on him had turned into a way to save him—and perhaps, in the process, save our relationship.
As we packed, I thought about the garden hose. I thought about the cold water on my skin and the way Vanessa had sneered. It was the best thing she had ever done for me. It had stripped away the lies, destroyed the pretenses, and forced my son to look at the world without the filter of his own expectations.
