failing. Give it six months.’”
A ripple of murmurs moved through the room. Nicole turned another page.
“‘Your mother took Rose’s money and threw it into that bakery. That was supposed to be security for this family. When she loses it all, maybe she’ll finally understand what she walked away from.’”
For a moment, I forgot the customers. I forgot the hair, the noise, the stares. I was back at our old kitchen table years ago, hearing him say our family’s future.
I had believed he meant our children.
Now I wasn’t so sure he ever had.
Vanessa’s voice was thin. “You never told me any of that.”
“Because there’s nothing to tell,” Edward snapped.
I turned to Nicole, my voice cracking. “Why didn’t you tell me, sweetheart?”
She glanced at me, and for the first time, I saw the hurt beneath her calm. “Because I didn’t want to believe
he’d go this far. I wanted to be wrong about him.”
Part 6: Proof
Edward’s jaw tightened. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” He jabbed a finger at the plate. “There’s still a hair in my food. That’s the problem here.”
Nicole looked at the cinnamon roll. Then, slowly, she smiled.
Edward saw it. “What?”
She didn’t answer.
Near the front window sat Denise, a regular who came in almost every Saturday. She set her coffee down with a quiet clink.
“I’ve been eating here since the second week this place opened,” she said. “I have never once seen anything dirty in this bakery.”
Another woman raised her hand. “I follow their page. They post videos of the kitchen all the time. It’s spotless.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes. Edward gave a hollow laugh. But the mood in the room was shifting, and
