“Nobody wants to take her from you. I promise.”
“Promises are easy.”
He reached into his coat pocket and removed a small velvet pouch.
“Meredith asked me to give you this.”
I already knew what was inside.
The diamond ring.
I stepped backward.
“I don’t want it.”
“Please. It belongs to Ellie. You can keep it safe until she’s older.”
He placed the pouch on the little table beside my front door.
Then he left.
I locked the door and sat at the kitchen table, staring at the pouch.
Suddenly, everything I’d worked so hard to protect felt uncertain.
What if these people tried to take Ellie?
They had money.
Influence.
Attorneys.
All I had was an aging house, a modest income, and a little girl who depended on me for everything.
A few minutes later, Ellie came downstairs holding her stuffed rabbit.
“Grandma? Who was at the door?”
