Framed By Love, Unleashed By Vengeance

me, destroyed my career, and sent me to prison. For seven year

nd, Edgar, and our son, Kody, sh

a lie. The party was a surprise engagement celebration

yone, Edgar told

on even

e cried. "Just s

viving the car crash the

e sudden silence of the ballroom, I smiled and asked, "Kody,

pte

Carden

even years. Seven years since I was Abigail Cardenas, the sharp-witted patent lawyer, whose life had been surgically removed and

or visitors, but the hushed whispers and sudden stillness suggested something diff

a melody I'd tried to erase but was still etc

seeping into my bones. Seven years. He was su

w, hesitant, laced with a surprise

aling the box, my movements stiff, robotic.

st brushing my arm. I flinched, pulling back as if scalded

nto a dull hum, as if the world was holding its breath. Every fiber of my being

t motes dancing in the air. The faint smell of exhaust fumes from a distant forkl

was hoarse now, thick with disbelief. "Th

y. What could I say? That I wasn't dead enough? That I had

x of shock and relief in his tone. "Celena...

ly, were like venom. Devastated? Cried for week

e him. Taller now, broader

, a raw, broken whis

op working. I couldn't acknowledge

ce pleaded, stepping closer. "We though

to scream the words, but they stuck in my

ed with an emotion I couldn't quite decip

shooting through my chest. The word "Mom" felt alien on hi

motion. "You must have me confused with someone else." Each

talking about? It's me, Edgar. And this is Kody. Your

I had loved with every fiber of my being. T

orless sound that felt brittle

k in my work uniform, the grime on my hands, the exhaustion etched on my face.

?" His voice was thick with what sounded almost lik

ill devoid of warmth. "The life you left me, Edga

ave helped you," he insisted, taking anothe

at Kody, who was now openly weeping, his shoulders shaking.

I said, my gaze hardening. "And you, Edgar,

oked defeated, his usual polished demeanor replac

, reaching for me. "I miss

ch me. "You have no 'Mom' here," I said,

ll streaming down his cheeks.

ated, my voice echoing hollowly in the vast

ma unfolding, called out, "Hey, A

"Almost," I replied, my voice steady, pu

ut I cut him off. "I have wor

but I held up a hand. "Leave.

began, "just talk to

me? You think I need your help?" I scoffed. "The

and pain. Kody, too, was rooted to the spot, hi

stammered, his voice cracking. "Kody's bi

reminder of what he used to be, what

d pushing the pallet toward the loading bay.

severing. I heard Kody' s ragged gasp, but I