Chapter 4

Mara’s POV

The day Soren returned to the city, he called me seventeen times.

I was at the funeral home sorting through my father’s belongings.

I didn’t answer once.

That afternoon, his assistant found me.

“Mrs. Calloway, Mr. Calloway is waiting for you. Celeste’s gallery can’t open, and the investors are demanding compensation.”

I placed my father’s silver watch inside a wooden box.

“That has nothing to do with me.”

His expression tightened.

“Mr. Calloway said if you don’t get to the Voss property within the hour, he’ll file a claim against your father’s estate for breach of contract.”

My hand stopped.

When my father was alive, his greatest fear had been becoming a burden to Soren.

Now Soren was threatening his estate before his funeral was even over.

“Let’s go.”

By the time we reached the Voss property, Soren was already there. He stood beside the broken wooden table while Celeste held onto his arm.

The moment he saw me, he checked his watch.

“You’re forty-seven minutes late.”

I ignored him. On the day of my father’s surgery he was hours late.

He held out a document. “Withdraw the asset-preservation order.”

“Open the Calloway vault first.”

“Mara, know when to stop.”

Celeste’s face paled. “This gallery is everything I’ve worked for. You can’t destroy it just because you hate me.”

“Why should your dream be built on my father’s property?”

“Soren promised it to me.”

“Then tell him to give you one of his own properties.”

Soren suddenly grabbed my wrist. “Stop provoking her.”

I looked down at his hand.

He had done this countless times during our marriage.

Whenever I fought back, he called me irrational. Whenever I refused to give in, he called me difficult.

“Let go.”

“Sign the papers, and I will.”

I looked up. “And if I don’t?”

His voice turned cold.

“The Calloway organization is funding this entire project. We’ll also continue covering your father’s medical and security expenses.”

He paused.

“You can fight me over an empty property, or you can let us handle his care. Your choice.”

Even now, he was using my father against me.

“It’s already too late.”

Soren’s brows furrowed. “Don’t push your luck, Mara.”

I pulled the property deed from my bag.

“You said you’d return everything if my father came to collect it himself.”

His lips curled into a mocking smile. “What? You’re still using your father’s condition to manipulate me?”

I nodded. “That’s why they’re here.”

I pointed toward the entrance.

A convoy of Calloway security vehicles rolled into the street.

The men stepped out first then the rear vehicle opened.

Two funeral attendants carefully carried out a polished coffin bearing my father’s name.

Celeste’s smile disappeared.

Soren stared at it.

I looked directly at him.

“You wanted him to come collect his things.”

My voice was quiet.

“He came.”

One of the funeral attendants approached Soren with a folder.

“Mr. Soren Calloway?”

Soren didn’t answer immediately.

“You were listed as Mr. Gideon Voss’s emergency contact. The hospital requires your acknowledgement of the final records.”

He handed over the folder.

Soren opened it.

The death certificate was on top.

Beneath it were the resuscitation records, the overdue hospital payment notice, and the call log.

Twenty-seven missed calls.

All from the hospital.

Soren’s eyes stopped moving.

The time of death was printed clearly across the page.

2:17 A.M.