Caris sat on the sofa in Maris and Aileen’s hotel suite with Malachi’s hand squeezing her shoulder as she prepared to tell her mother potentially the most devastating news she was ever going to hear. She was going to break her mother’s heart in many ways this evening and she wasn’t even sure where to begin. It was ten o’clock at night and the events of the last several hours had her heart hammering far faster than it should be.
“Caris, you’re starting to scare me,” Aileen sat across from her with her hands pressed tightly between her knees, desperately trying to maintain the image of elegance and grace but the weeks of upheaval weighing heavily.
“Mom, you know Malachi took over Walker-Young.”
“I know. It’s weird to be in the same room as you and not feel like I’m consorting with the ene
