“Shit—I have to take a call, Char,” I said quickly. “Talk to you later.”
“Sure. Everything alright?”
“Yeah, perfect—just need to take this.”
“Okay, then…”
I apologized before switching over.
“Ethan,” Dad’s voice boomed through the line.
I let out a rush of air. “Dad—finally. Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you since last Monday.”
He was silent for a second—long enough for the unease to claw its way back.
“Been busy. Thought we should have a chat before I leave for Boston.”
I frowned. “Boston?”
“Yes, I’m handling a new investment there.”
I tapped my fingers on the counter. “What?” It came out as a whisper.
“The one I told you about.”
“Yeah, but we said we were going to talk about that before?—”
“I had to take the opportunity before it was too late. You can understand that, right?”
More tapping. Harder. “Dad, that was my?—”
“You’ll earn it back. It’s not like you need it anyway,” he said, tone dismissive. Like he hadn’t just stolen my fucking life out from under me.
“What do you mean I don’t need it? Dad, that was the whole thing. I’m doing my master’s right now—I’m not working. I couldn’t even get a place to live.”
“You don’t need it, Ethan. You’ve been smart about the choices you’ve made. I’m proud of you for that.”
Those words should’ve felt good. Should’ve meant something. Instead, they jammed somewhere in my head, and every alarm in my body went off at once. “I don’t get it.”
“With the Langleys,” he said. “Your sister will support you no matter what. You have Henry there with you. And I knowyou went to Madrid after Sebastian. He definitely has more than enough to keep you comfortable for the rest of your life.” He laughed—like any of this was actually fucking funny. “Several lifetimes, in fact.”
My heart fell straight through the floor. “You can’t be serious…”
“I’ll let you know when the investment starts paying off. Thanks for being there for your old man, son.”
“Dad—”
Silence. Wrong, heavy silence.
“Dad?”
I held the phone away to look at the screen. He fucking hung up. I tried calling again, and an ominous automated voice informed me the number I’d dialed was no longer in service.
He didn’t… He didn’t actually just block me?
Fuck.
Don’t panic?—
