Chapter 17 - The Fracture Complete
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At 2:00 PM, my phone rang. The caller ID showed Mason’s number.
I let it ring three times before I answered. “Yes.”
“Dad,” Mason’s voice was hoarse, stripped of all defense and pride. “You were right.”
I didn't offer a comforting platitude. I waited.
“The police just showed up at my office,” Mason continued, a shuddering breath rattling over the speaker. “They asked me to come down to the station for questioning regarding Brooke’s financial activities. They told me I wasn't a suspect, Dad. They told me they have audio evidence that she tried to extort you for a divorce settlement to pay off a loan shark.”
“I recorded her on the porch on Sunday,” I confirmed flatly.
“She was going to sell our marriage to save herself,” Mason whispered, the absolute devastation in his voice breaking my heart, even as my exterior remained stone. “I gave her everything. I defended her against you and Mom. And she was just using me as a shield.”
“A parasite does not care about the host, Mason,” I said softly. “It only cares about survival.”
“I’m at the police station now,” he said. “I gave them everything. I signed a sworn statement detailing exactly what she told me about the fitness franchise and the fake investments. I gave them my laptop so they can see I never authorized the LLC incorporation.”
He had finally done the right thing. He had turned his back on the illusion and stepped into the brutal reality.
“Where is Brooke?” I asked.
“I don't know,” Mason replied, sounding incredibly exhausted. “She called me an hour ago, screaming. She said men were following her. She asked me to come pick her up, to hide her.”
“And what did you do?” I asked, the tension tightening in my chest.
“I told her to call a lawyer,” Mason said. “And I hung up.”
I closed my eyes, letting out a long, quiet exhale. The boy had finally become a man. He had severed the infected limb to save the rest of his life.
“Where are you going now?” I asked.
May you like
“I don't know,” Mason admitted. “My hotel room is paid through tomorrow, but after that... I don't know.”
“Come home, Mason,” I said, looking across the living room at Lorraine, who had set her book down and was watching me with hopeful eyes. “Your room is exactly how you left it.”
