“Yes, you can.”
She looked at me directly.
“I choose Ethan.”
I swallowed.
“Then he needs to tell you the whole truth.”
“Yes.”
Julian came to the hospital the next day.
I recognized him from a photograph Clara had shown the police.
He stood near the vending machines in a dark jacket and baseball cap.
When he saw me, he smiled.
“You must be Ethan’s sister.”
“You need to leave.”
“I came to see my child.”
“Security is coming.”
He laughed.
“Clara called them?”
“She doesn’t want you here.”
“She doesn’t know what she wants.”
The words made me furious.
“She knows she wants you gone.”
He held up his phone.
On the screen was an old photograph of Ethan standing beside Dr. Vale.
Ethan looked about twenty-five.
“You think Ethan met Clara after the funeral?” Julian asked.
I said nothing.
“He knew the old man for years.”
“That proves nothing.”
“Dr. Vale paid for Ethan’s university.”
My confidence faltered.
Julian noticed.
“He didn’t tell you that?”
“You’re lying.”
“Ask him about the promise.”
