brakes.
Normal life.
I suddenly realized something.
For years, I had believed Laura’s greatest weapon was my sons.
It wasn’t.
Her greatest weapon had been my fear of losing them.
She knew I would tolerate almost anything if I believed fighting back might cost me time with Rick and Noah.
But there was a problem with that strategy.
I had stopped being afraid.
At 10:02 a.m., Laura called again.
I let it ring.
She called again.
I ignored it.
Then she sent a message.
Please call me. This is serious.
I waited ten minutes.
Then I called.
“What happened?”
“Brent’s lawyer says we need to settle.”
I almost smiled.
“Then settle.”
“He says we should pay the invoice.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
“But we don’t have $7,018 available right now.”
I frowned.
That wasn’t my problem.
Then she said something that made me sit upright.
“The
