Five Years After Being Kicked Out

Synopsis

On Christmas Eve, while watching fireworks with my daughter, my phone vibrated. A voice sounded. "Lottie." When I heard the voice I hadn't heard in years, my hand froze mid-air, the fruit knife hovering above the cutting board. Five years ago, my own parents and brother joined forces to kick me out for the sake of that fake heiress, even going so far as to announce to the media that they were cutting all ties with me. I couldn't understand why William Grant, the aloof and untouchable heir of the Grant family, would lower himself to reach out to me. "Who is this?" I said. There was a long pause. Then his voice came through, thick with emotion, almost begging. William said, "I'm outside your door. The snow's coming down hard. Please see me once. "Mom's dying. She wants to see you one last time." Outside my door? I glanced out the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside the villa's iron gate, the man who once looked down on everyone stood in the snow, covered in snowflakes, brought down to the dust. Looking at his face, turning purple from the cold, all I could think about was the hopelessness I felt the day I was cast out. I turned and hugged my husband, Edward Lane, when he came over. I said into the phone, my voice icy. "You know better than anyone. I haven't had a family for a long time." With that, I pulled the curtains shut, blocking out the storm and William's silhouette outside.