Chapter 19 - The Unsigned Papers
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Two weeks before Christmas, Molly returned home from Madison for her winter break.
She looked older, her face settled into a quiet maturity. She walked into the house, set her bags down in the hallway, and went straight into the ground floor bedroom where Russell was sitting in his wheelchair.
Leona stood quietly in the hallway, listening through the slightly open door.
"Dad," Molly’s voice was calm, devoid of the screaming hysterics from the hospital.
Russell looked up, his face lighting up with desperate hope. "Molly... baby..."
"Don't," Molly said softly, holding up a hand. "I'm not here to yell at you. And I'm not here to pretend everything is okay."
Russell swallowed hard, his head bowing low.
"I am going to finish my degree," Molly said, her tone steady and firm. "Mom showed me what you did with the accounts. I know you tried to give away my college fund."
Russell shook his head frantically. "No... no... I... would never..."
"You did," Molly said, her voice dropping into an icy certainty that sounded terrifyingly like her mother's. "I will help Mom take care of you physically while you heal because it's the right thing to do. But I am never going to trust you again."
She turned and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.
Leona met her daughter in the hallway. Molly walked into her mother's arms, hiding her face against Leona's shoulder for a long, quiet minute.
May you like
"I'm ready, Mom," Molly whispered.
Leona nodded, reaching into her tote bag resting on the entryway table. She pulled out a thick blue folder containing the finalized divorce and asset division settlement drafted by her attorney.
