Chapter 4

By the time I reached the prison gates, my entire body was shaking so violently I could barely stand.

Officer Carter ran out to meet me, his face grim.

"He's stable for now, and the prison doctors are treating him. But the real issue is his mental state."

"If he has to serve another five years for a crime he didn't commit, I don't think his heart can take it..."

Instantly, the blood in my veins ran cold.

There was no time to find another lawyer. I had to swallow my pride and call Ethan.

"My dad was framed again. You know every detail of his case. Please, just represent him in court this once. I'm begging you..."

Ethan's voice on the other end was icy.

"The moment you run into trouble, you run back to me. Didn't you say you could find plenty of other lawyers?"

"And here I thought you were finally growing up and learning to be independent."

My fingers trembled as I gripped the phone, my voice cracking with desperation.

"Just this once... I'll owe you for the rest of my life..."

There was a long pause on the line before he finally spoke:

"I'm not being cruel, Stella. But what if your dad actually did embezzle that corporate money? I don't want us getting dragged into his mess."

The line went dead.

The sterile dial tone felt like the final nail in my coffin, crushing the very last shred of hope in my heart.

I collapsed onto the curb, dialing number after number.

I called every single law firm in the directory.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Miller."

"We aren't familiar with the case files. Reviewing everything would take at least a week, and with the court date tomorrow, we just can't do it."

Just as I was about to completely break down, a Snapchat message from Ethan popped up:

[Send me your location. I'll come find you.]

An instant rush of relief and joy washed over me.

I quickly sent him my location and politely declined the couple of lawyers who had slowly started calling me back.

I prayed silently, over and over, that the appeal would succeed.

But I waited. For three hours, Ethan never showed up.

I called him twice, but both times he hung up on me.

Then, a message popped up:

[Peaches accidentally bit Chloe. I'm at the clinic with her getting her a rabies shot. I can't make it.]

My brain went completely numb.

Right after, another text arrived:

[I'm sending you the contact info of a few good attorneys. You should reach out to them.]

After sending a few phone numbers, his side went completely silent.

The blood in my body turned to ice.

At that moment, Officer Carter called from the prison.

"Ms. Miller... your father suffered another sudden cardiac arrest. The doctors did everything they could, but... he didn't make it."

"I am so incredibly sorry for your loss."

My father's pale, lifeless face was covered by a white sheet. He lay there, cold and still.

The air left my lungs, and my knees hit the floor.

A guttural scream tore from my throat as the tears finally came.

My only family left in this world was gone.

Once my tears ran dry, I pulled out the divorce papers Ethan had unknowingly signed, penned my signature at the bottom, and blacklisted his number on everything.

It wasn't until Ethan returned to his law office days later that he finally remembered my father's case.

He called his assistant into the office.

"Retrieve my father-in-law's case files. Let me see if there's any ground for an appeal."

The assistant lowered his head, stammering nervously.

"Sir... Mr. Miller couldn't survive the stress of the new charges. He suffered a massive heart attack and passed away in the prison hospital."

Ethan froze, suddenly standing up.

"Also," the assistant handed him a medical document, "Mrs. Vance left this for you."