Chapter 6 - The Clearing of the HouseThree weeks later, the cold grey sky of October had given way to the crisp, clear blue of early November.
I drove back to the lake house alone in my SUV. The gravel driveway was empty. The white Range Rover was gone, the black Mercedes was gone, and the silence surrounding the water was clean, vast, and pristine.
Under the terms of the finalized emergency court decree, Daniel had officially surrendered all legal claims to the lake house property, signed the sole-custody agreement for Lily and Ben, and stepped down as CEO of Sterling Logistics following the completion of the board’s audit.
Paige Mercer had left Massachusetts entirely, relocating to a secondary suburban firm in New Jersey after her design practice collapsed under the weight of the state tax investigation.
I unlocked the heavy front door of the main house and stepped inside.
The smell of stale perfume and expensive moisturizer still lingered faintly in the foyer.
I didn't cry. I didn't hesitate.
I walked upstairs to the master bedroom, opened the heavy oak closet doors, and pulled out six large, black industrial trash bags I had brought in my trunk.
I took the six dresses hanging in the center of the closet—the green sundress, the white linen shirt, the two summer dresses, the black cocktail dress, and the blue wrap dress—and threw them into the trash bags one by one.
I walked into the bathroom, swept the expensive moisturizer, the cotton pads, the makeup remover, the hairbrush, and the pale pink toothbrush into the plastic bags, tying them shut with heavy knots.
I carried the six trash bags down the stairs, out the front door, and dropped them directly into the heavy metal commercial dumpster at the edge of the gravel drive.
Then I walked into the kitchen, opened the top shelf where the white ceramic mug with the blue loon sat, picked it up, and walked out onto the wooden dock overlooking Blackwater Lake.
The water was dark, deep, and still, reflecting the crisp autumn sun like a polished mirror.
I held the mug with the name Paige written across the side in my right hand.
I didn't feel anger. I didn't feel hatred. I felt only the profound, weightless peace of a woman who had reclaimed her life, her home, and her soul from the dark.
I opened my fingers.
SPLASH.
May you like
The ceramic mug broke through the surface of the lake, sinking quickly into the dark, cold depths below until it vanished entirely from sight.
I stood on the edge of the dock, taking a deep, clean breath of the cold mountain air, feeling the warm sunlight settle against my face.
