Chapter 9 - THE FALL OF THE CALDWELLS
A month later,
the news broke that the Caldwell oil empire was collapsing.
Without the support of Vale International,
their debts had caught up to them.
Savannah’s dream of a royal life was turning into a nightmare.
One afternoon,
while I was in the garden of our new home,
a car pulled up to the gate.
It was Savannah.
She looked terrible.
Her designer clothes were wrinkled,
and her eyes were puffy from crying.
The security guards let her through after I gave the word.
She walked up to me,
but she didn't have her usual smirk.
"Madison,"
she sobbed,
throwing herself onto a garden chair.
"You have to help us."
"Preston’s father is losing everything."
"They’re going to take our house!"
"They're going to take my cars!"
I looked at her,
feeling a strange sense of detachment.
This was the girl who had laughed while I sat on a bike.
This was the girl who had helped Elaine erase my mother.
"Why should I help you,
Savannah?"
I asked calmly.
"Because we're sisters!"
she cried.
"We're not,"
I said.
"We were roommates in a house that hated me."
"You enjoyed my humiliation for ten years."
"You told me poverty was my future."
Savannah looked up,
her face twisted with desperation.
"I was joking,
Maddie!"
"It was just a game!"
"It wasn't a game to me,"
I said.
"It was my life."
"I can't help you,
Savannah."
"Ethan doesn't listen to me when it comes to business."
"That's a lie!"
she screamed.
"He does everything for you!"
"He would,"
I agreed.
"But I would never ask him to reward cruelty."
I stood up and signaled to the guards.
"It's time for you to leave."
"You can't do this!"
she yelled as she was led away.
"You'll regret this!"
But as the gates closed,
I knew I wouldn't.
The cycle of abuse had finally ended.
Ethan walked out of the house,
joining me in the garden.
"Was that Savannah?"
he asked,
putting an arm around my shoulders.
"It was the ghost of Savannah,"
I replied.
"She's gone now."
He kissed the top of my head.
"Good."
"We have better things to do."
"Like what?"
"The bicycle needs a new coat of paint,"
he teased.
"I thought we could take it for a ride in the park."
May you like
I laughed and leaned into him.
"I'd like that."
