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Home / The Sea She Never Saw / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of The Sea She Never Saw: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

21 Chapters

Chapter 1

The day my daughter was fighting for her life, my wife, Shirley Hartley, was busy helping her childhood friend Oliver Burke get married.I called seventeen times.She hung up on me every time.On my eighteenth try, she finally picked up."Shirley, Nyssa's getting worse. The doctor says she needs life support now. They want twenty grand upfront. Where's the money?"Her voice turned ice-cold."I used it. Oliver's wedding is coming up, and that stuff costs money. I'm not letting his fiancée's family look down on him."Nyssa just has asthma, right? She coughs a little and suddenly they want twenty grand? Sounds like a scam."Nyssa lay in the hospital bed, her tiny face ghost-pale. Her eyes slowly opened."Daddy, I want Mommy."I turned away, biting my lip hard so she wouldn't see me cry."Mommy'll be here soon."But over the phone, Shirley snapped, "Oliver still hasn't picked out his wedding suit. I don't have time for you freaking out over this."Then she hung up.By the tim

Chapter 2

After handling Nyssa's funeral arrangements, I went home alone.The second I opened the door, I stopped cold.The living room was packed with wedding favors, gift boxes, and booze.Huge "Just Married" signs covered the walls.Two movers hauled boxes upstairs, Oliver's name stamped across them.Shirley's mom, Caroline Hartley, stood by the stairs bossing them around."Careful. That's the china for Oliver's wedding. You break it, you're paying for it."When she saw me, she didn't ask about Nyssa.She just pointed at the gift boxes."Good, you're back."Oliver's wedding is short-staffed. Pack these favors."I ignored her and went upstairs.The movers had opened Nyssa's room.The teddy bear stickers were gone, buried under wedding garlands.Her desk, toy shelf, and pink bed were gone too.Now the room was crammed with suitcases and wedding supplies stacked to the ceiling.The star-shaped lamp I'd bought her had been tossed by the door.The shade was cracked."Where's Nyss

Chapter 3

The next morning, Oliver showed up.He wore the custom suit Shirley had made for him and a watch worth over sixty grand.I'd seen the receipt in Shirley's safe once.She told me it was for an important client.Now it was on Oliver's wrist."Joe." Oliver set a fruit basket on the table and smiled. "What hospital is Nyssa at?"Before I could answer, he dropped onto the couch."After the wedding, Shirley and I will go see her."Things have been so crazy, I barely sleep anymore."Like Shirley helping plan his wedding was the most normal thing in the world.I looked at the watch."New?"Oliver brushed a thumb over the watch, smiling."Shirley gave it to me for my birthday last year."I tried to say no, but she said I needed a few nice things to make a good impression."You don't mind, right?""No."Because I was taking every last thing back.Oliver clearly didn't get it.He pulled out his phone and started showing me wedding photos.There were shots from the test drive,

Chapter 4

On Oliver's wedding day, Shirley left the house at six in the morning.Before she left, she tossed a gray suit onto the couch."Oliver has important guests coming. Shave, clean yourself up, and quit looking so miserable."I ignored it and put on my own black suit.Then I pinned a small black mourning ribbon to my chest.It had been exactly one week since Nyssa died.And her own mother still had no idea she was gone.When I got to the hotel, the parking lot was packed with luxury cars.A huge flower wall outside the ballroom displayed Oliver's and his bride's names.And right out front sat the Maybach bought with the money meant to save Nyssa.Covered in white flowers.Their getaway car.Shirley stood at the entrance greeting guests.She wore a white gown.Anyone walking in would've thought she was the bride.The second Shirley saw the black mourning ribbon on my suit, her face darkened."Today's Oliver's wedding. Why are you wearing that?"I ignored her and walked into

Chapter 5

The ballroom went dead silent.Oliver's bride was still standing across the stage.But now the guests were looking at him and Shirley differently.Shirley grabbed my collar and yanked me offstage."Do you seriously have to lose it today?""Save it for court."I turned to leave.She stepped in front of me again.People in the ballroom already had their phones out, recording.The second Shirley noticed everyone staring, she snatched the mic from the emcee."Everyone, please don't get the wrong idea. My husband hasn't been himself lately."She paused, looking drained."Our daughter's getting worse, and the stress is messing with him. Now he thinks there's something going on between Oliver and me."This divorce thing? It's just him acting on impulse."Just like that, she made me sound crazy.Caroline shoved her way onto the stage."He's just being petty!"Oliver doesn't have parents. What's wrong with Shirley helping with his wedding?"A grown man sitting around jealous o

Chapter 6

The big screen suddenly went dark.Caroline had yanked the plug.Shirley looked like she finally had control again.She sneered at me."You really think a few cherry-picked texts can destroy us?"How are you supposed to survive without me?"Nyssa's always sick, and you quit your job to take care of her."Without my family, you couldn't even pay for her next hospital stay."I looked at her. "Do you even know where Nyssa is?"Shirley frowned, annoyed. "She's at the hospital, isn't she?"I already told you. After the wedding, I'll go with you to pick her up."Seven days.If she cared about Nyssa at all, she would've known.She hadn't called the doctor.Hadn't asked the nurses.Hadn't even asked me how our daughter was doing.She hadn't noticed Nyssa hadn't called her once in seven days.My throat tightened.I'd stopped expecting anything from her a long time ago.Still, her answer was insane."You really don't know?""What kind of question is that? I've been busy. How

Chapter 7

Shirley stared at the metal door, then grabbed my shoulder."What do you mean? Isn't Nyssa in her hospital room?"What are we doing here?"I pulled free."Go inside and find out."The farther we walked, the colder it got.Caroline rubbed her arms, her irritation fading into unease."Did the hospital mess something up?"How does a kid who was fine end up here?"A staff member stopped at a row of refrigerated drawers and pulled one open.A tiny body lay under a white sheet.The second Shirley saw Nyssa's face, she screamed."Joe Jourdain, what the hell is this?"Why is Nyssa in here?"Did you seriously find some kid to fake this so I'd agree to the divorce?"She ripped back the sheet.Then froze.On the back of Nyssa's hand was the IV mark she knew too well.Nyssa's favorite pink hair clip was still tucked beside her ear.Shirley had bought it for her before she was hospitalized.Nyssa had loved it ever since.The staff member frowned. "Ms. Hartley, please don't touc

Chapter 8

Shirley stayed crumpled on the floor for a long time.She kept rubbing the blacked-out face in the drawing, like she could erase Nyssa's last disappointment.As we left the morgue, she suddenly grabbed the staff member."I want to talk to the doctor who treated Nyssa. I want to know exactly how she died."Then she turned to me.Fear flashed in her eyes, along with doubt she refused to admit.Like if the doctor said Nyssa couldn't have been saved, then maybe the $220,000 had nothing to do with her death.The doctor on duty pulled up Nyssa's full records from that day."At 3:20 p.m., her oxygen levels kept dropping."When standard respiratory support failed, we recommended ECMO, an advanced form of life support."The hospital clearly told you the initial cost would be around $20,000."The doctor looked at Shirley."Her father agreed to treatment, but the money in his account had been transferred out. He had to find the money somewhere else."Shirley went pale."Couldn't you

Chapter 9

It was drizzling the day Nyssa was cremated.I got to the funeral home early and changed her into the white dress I'd bought for her.She'd wanted it before her birthday.But she wouldn't let me buy it then. She said she'd wait until her mom got her bonus.When Shirley got that bonus, she bought Oliver a watch worth over $60,000.Nyssa died without ever getting a dress from her mother.As the staff member handed me the final form, Shirley and Caroline rushed into the viewing room."I'm her mother." Shirley grabbed the pen. "I'll sign it."The staff member checked the paperwork and shook his head."Her father already completed everything."Mr. Jourdain is also handling her remains and funeral arrangements."Shirley's hand froze in midair.The cremation chamber slowly opened.Caroline suddenly lunged forward."Stop! Don't cremate her!"Let me see my granddaughter one more time!"Shirley stood frozen, staring at Nyssa's tiny body.She didn't know what Nyssa had eaten for

Chapter 10

As Shirley was led away, she kept looking back at me."Joe, tell them I didn't mean to do it. I was only borrowing the money."I held the urn tighter and said nothing.Intent didn't change the fact that Nyssa was dead.Once the viewing room doors shut, Oliver finally moved.He rushed over."Joe, this has nothing to do with me."Shirley bought the car herself. I had no idea Nyssa was critical."I looked at the messages still on the screen."You didn't know that was her treatment money?"Oliver went pale."I was just asking. I thought Shirley had other money.""You didn't turn down the car."And you were more than happy to drive it on your wedding day."Oliver opened his mouth.Sarah was already pulling off her ring.She threw it at him."We're done."Don't contact me until you can explain all this."Oliver rushed after her.I didn't look at them again.Daniel stayed until the paperwork was done, then walked me to my car."The authorities are verifying when the mone

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