Chapter 6

Dorothy stood up, walked over, and looked down at her like she was the queen of the place. "Emily, let me be real with you. All these years in the Oliver family, you had food, clothes, and a place to stay. Nobody ever hit you or cursed you out.

"Sure, you and Noah never really had feelings for each other, but as Mrs. Oliver, people still treated you with respect. If you leave with nothing, you'll be another nobody. Are you sure about this?"

"I've thought it through," Emily replied.

"Alright then," Dorothy said, grabbing her bag. "For the next twenty days, go about your business like usual. You're still running the house, and Jayden's still your responsibility. Don't let anyone catch on that you're leaving."

"Why?" Emily asked.

Dorothy said bluntly. "The Oliver family's reputation is worth more than your pride."

After Dorothy left, Emily sat alone in the living room, flipping the agreement to the last page. Next to the signature line, there was a small line of text with the date. Twenty days.

She put the agreement away, tucking it into a drawer in her bedroom. Then she pulled out her black phone and dialed a number.

The call was answered almost immediately. It was a man's voice. It sounded calm, steady, with the kind of authority that came from giving orders all the time.

"Ready?" the man asked.

Emily said, "Hold off for twenty days. After the shareholders' meeting."

There was a brief pause. Then the man said, "You sure you want to wait?"

"I'm sure," Emily replied.

"Alright. If anything comes up in the next twenty days, let me know ASAP."

"Got it."

Emily hung up and locked the phone back in the hidden compartment of her bedside table.

For the next twenty days, all she had to do was keep a low profile as Mrs. Oliver like she had for the past seven years. It was only twenty more days, which was nothing to her.

On the third day of the twenty-day countdown, something happened.

Emily went to pick up Jayden from school that afternoon. When she arrived, his homeroom teacher called her into the office.

"Mrs. Oliver, I wanted to check with you about something," the teacher said, a woman in her forties, sounding polite. "Today, Jayden's emergency contact info got changed.

"It used to be you, but now it's listed as Ms. Hardy. I want to check if this change was something you guys talked about at home."

Emily sat in the office chair, her crutch leaning against the armrest.

"Who changed it?" Emily asked.

The teacher replied, "Jayden's dad called this afternoon and told us to update it. He said from now on, if anything happens at school, reach out to Ms. Hardy."

Emily rested her hand on her knee, her fingertips digging into the fabric of her skirt, trying to steady herself.

Emily said as she stood up, "Got it. Where's Jayden?"

"He's waiting for you on the playground," the teacher replied.

Emily left the office and walked over to the playground. Jayden was sitting on the steps, his backpack slung over his shoulders. When he saw her, he got up.

"Mom," Jayden called out.

"Let's go home," Emily said.

"Mom, Amber said she's taking me to the aquarium next week. Dad's coming too," Jayden said.

Emily took his hand and started walking toward the school gate. "Okay."

"Are you coming too, Mom?" Jayden asked.

"My leg still isn't better, so I can't go," Emily replied.

Jayden said, "Okay," and went quiet. After a few steps, he spoke up again. "Mom, don't you like Amber?"

Emily looked down at her son's face. He was five, with eyes and brows like Noah's, but his chin was all hers.

"Why do you ask?" Emily asked.

"Because every time you hear Amber's name, you go quiet," Jayden replied.

Emily crouched down, wincing a little as her injured leg took the pressure. She looked Jayden straight in the eye.

"Jayden, it's not that I don't like her. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters," Emily said.

"Then why aren't you happy, Mom?" Jayden asked.

Emily stayed silent, unable to answer. After a few seconds, she quietly reached out to fix his collar, forcing a gentle smile. "Come on. Let's go home for dinner."

When they got home, Noah was actually there for once. Emily handed Jayden over to the nanny and headed straight to the study.

Standing in the doorway, Emily said in a calm, almost detached voice, "The emergency contact's been changed to Amber."

Noah was sitting behind his desk, barely glancing up. "Yeah. She gets along with Jayden, so it's easier for her to handle things if anything comes up."

She murmured, "I haven't left yet."

Noah glanced at her, his voice emotionless. "You're leaving soon, aren't you? Might as well start getting used to it. Jayden needs someone steady around."

Emily stood in the doorway, her hand gripping the doorknob, her crutch pressed against the frame.

She said, "Fine. I won't bother picking him up anymore."

"Whatever," Noah replied.

Emily closed the door and went back to her own room. It had been seven years, and she and Noah had been sleeping in separate rooms for two of them.

Her room was at the end of the hallway, the smallest one. The window faced the backyard wall, so there was nothing to see outside.

She sat down on the bed and stretched out her leg, feeling the ache from her fracture pulsing beneath the skin. It was a constant reminder she couldn't ignore.

Her phone rang. It was Isabella.

"I heard about it," Isabella said, her voice sharp with anger. "He even changed Jayden's emergency contact at school? Is he trying to erase you from this family completely?"

"That's exactly what he wants," Emily replied.

"Aren't you angry?" Isabella asked.