Henry’s hysterical expression was a far cry from the warm voice that had once promised, “I’ll take care of you in your old age.” 

At this point, it was painfully obvious—he’d lied about the car accident, lied about everything. I wasn’t family to him. I was dead weight he couldn’t dump fast enough. 

“If you’ve got even a shred of decency left, leave!” he yelled, pointing dramatically at the hotel doors like he was casting me out of paradise. His face was practically curdling with disgust. 

Right on cue, Mona swooped in, all graceful, like she was rehearsing for a soap opera. She laid this delicate, supportive hand on his shoulder, pretending to look sympathetic. 

“She is your biological mother, after all,” she sighed. “Maybe I should be the one to leave. I’m just the outsider here.” 

“Don’t say that!” Henry interrupted, way too fast. “You’re the one who’s been a real mother to me. This woman? She’s the one who forced her way between you and my father. She’s the real home-wrecker.” 

Then he turned to me, his voice like ice. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll walk out on your own. Otherwise, I’ll get security to handle it.” 

I took a deep breath, feeling like I’d just been hit with a bucket of ice water. A strange, cold calm settled over me, dulling the sting. 

“Henry,” I said quietly, “I warned you a long time ago not to get mixed up with her. I told you it would only end badly.” 

A year ago, he’d told me about meeting Mona, this supposed “refined” socialite with her rich husband and her high-society friends. She’d pulled off the whole act perfectly—like some wise, supportive mentor. But I knew better. Mona didn’t have an ounce of genuine kindness in her. 

I’d warned him again and again to stay away from her. And he’d promised he would. Clearly, that promise meant nothing. 

“Nothing good will come of it?” Henry scoffed, though I caught a quick flash of guilt before he buried it under his usual resentment. “The only bad luck in my life is you! Mona gives me connections, money, opportunities you could only dream of! And you? You couldn’t even run a restaurant without selling it off. Now you want me to support you? I’m young—I don’t need you weighing me down. What’s so wrong with that?” 

With those few words, he erased everything I’d done for him, like it was all worthless. 

“Why are you even wasting time on this?” Suddenly, Tina was beside him, giving me a look dripping with disdain. “Just get security to throw her out. We’ve got actual guests coming soon.” 

Henry’s face darkened, and he threw a quick signal to the guards by the entrance. 

I didn’t stop him. I just looked at him, expression blank, my heart iced over. 

“Let me ask you one last time,” I said, my voice low but steady. “Are you sure you want to choose her as your mother?” I pointed right at Mona. 

“Because if you do, we’re done. Don’t expect me to forgive you, even if you come crawling back someday, begging,” I added. 

Henry barked out a bitter laugh, like I’d just cracked the best joke he’d ever heard. “Beg? The only thing I’m begging for is that you stay out of my life for good.” 

Right then, the security guards showed up, and Henry quickly told them to escort me out. Then, like I was already some stranger, he took Mona’s arm and headed back to the banquet. 

I stepped out of the guards’ reach and raised my voice to make sure he—and everyone else—heard me loud and clear. 

“I booked this entire hotel for the day. So if anyone’s leaving, it’s you all.”