Chapter 20
Chapter 20: The Upstate Ghost
Three months after the divorce, Victoria Carter sat on the porch of a modest, two-bedroom cottage in a sleepy town three hours north of the city.
The cottage was clean and well-maintained, paid for by the baseline stipend Richard's lawyers provided, but to Victoria, it felt like a tomb. There were no maids, no chauffeurs, no high-society luncheons. The local residents knew her only as "Ms. Carter," a quiet, aloof woman who kept to herself and bought her groceries at the local market.
She held a cup of tea, watching the autumn leaves fall from the trees. Her hands, once perfectly manicured every single week, were now slightly dry. She had to do her own dishes now. She had to clean her own floors.
The doorbell rang, a rare sound in her isolated life.
She stood up, a sudden, desperate hope flaring in her chest. Could it be Richard? Could it be Emma? Had they finally missed her enough to come looking for her?
She opened the door, but the hope died instantly. Standing on the porch was a courier holding a legal document.
"Victoria Carter?" the courier asked.
"Yes," she whispered.
"Sign here, please."
She signed the digital pad, and the courier handed her a thick envelope before turning away. She went back inside, sitting at her small kitchen table to open it.
Inside were the final, certified copies of the divorce decree, along with a formal letter from Arthur’s law firm. The letter stated that all financial transfers would now be automated, and any further attempt to contact Richard or Emma Carter would be met with an immediate restraining order based on the harassment clauses in the settlement.
Attached to the back of the legal documents was a small, handwritten note from Emma.
Victoria’s hands shook as she unfolded it.
May you like
Mom, We are moving out of the old house next month. Dad sold it. We are building a new place closer to the city. I am doing well in school, and Dad is okay. I don't hate you anymore, but I don't know you either. Please don't try to find us. This is the last time I will ever write to you. Goodbye, Mom.
Victoria stared at the words until they blurred through her tears. She collapsed onto the kitchen table, clutching her daughter’s final letter to her chest, sobbing into the empty, quiet house. She had traded a kingdom, a husband who adored her, and a daughter who needed her, all for a boy who didn't even remember her name. The price of her sin was absolute, and she would be paying it for the rest of her life.
