PART 3
The dining room erupted into chaotic shouting. Extended relatives gasped, whispering frantically to one another, while Daniel walked forward and gently picked up little Radley, who reached out to hug his real father.
Luke stood up so fast his heavy dining chair crashed backward onto the floor. He picked up the lab report, staring at the numbers in absolute, unadulterated shock.
He turned toward Camellia, his face contorting into a mask of pure, demonic rage. “You… you lied to me for four years?!”
“Luke, listen to me!” Camellia sobbed, dropping to her knees beside his chair, clutching at his pants leg. “I did it for us! I loved you! Daniel was nobody! He couldn’t give him a life like this!”
“You made me blow up my sixteen-year marriage!” Luke roared, his voice shaking the crystal chandelier above the table. “I abandoned my three daughters! I let my wife take my kids to California! I fought my own blood for a child that isn’t even MINE?!”
Iris collapsed back into her chair, clutching her chest as her sister rushed to rub her shoulders. “Get her out of my house!” Iris shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at Camellia. “Get this deceitful parasite OUT OF MY HOUSE!”
Daniel looked at Luke with a cold, pitying stare. “I’m taking my son home now, Luke. You can settle your legal matters with her.”
Without another word, Daniel carried little Radley out of the grand estate, leaving Camellia screaming on the floor as two security guards grabbed her by her arms and dragged her through the front doors, tossing her designer bags onto the wet driveway behind her.
Luke stood alone in the center of the silent, ruined dining room. His wealth, his arrogance, and his fake new family had vanished in less than ten minutes.
He pulled his phone from his pocket with shaking hands, dialing my number.
Out on the West Coast, it was early afternoon. My three daughters and I had just landed at LAX, stepping out into the warm, golden California sunshine.
My phone rang. I saw Luke’s caller ID flashing on the screen.
I answered, pressing the phone to my ear. “Yes, Luke?”
On the other end of the line, I heard the broken, hysterical sobbing of a man who had finally realized he had destroyed everything he ever loved.
“They’re gone, Clover…” Luke wept, his voice raspy and pathetic. “Radley isn’t mine… Camellia lied to me about everything. I have nothing left, Clover. Please… please bring the girls back home. I’ll do anything. I’ll fix this!”
I stopped walking, looking over at Clover, who was happily helping her two younger sisters load their bright suitcases into our rental car under the palm trees.
I took a deep, clean breath of the ocean air.
“No, Luke,” I said softly, my voice completely free of anger or regret. “You don’t get to call us your safety net after you threw us away. We are starting our real life now.”
“Clover, please!” he begged.
“Goodbye, Luke.”
I hung up the phone, removed the SIM card from my phone, and dropped it into a trash bin by the terminal door.
Luke had traded sixteen years of loyalty, three incredible daughters, and a real family for a fake gold medal built on lies. He was left alone in an empty mansion, surrounded by the ashes of his own arrogance.
I walked over to my daughters, wrapped my arms around their shoulders, and smiled into the bright, beautiful California sun.
We were finally free, and our future was completely ours.
