My hands shook as I knelt to pick up the pieces. A jagged edge sliced my skin. Blood beaded on my fingertips and dripped onto the jade, mixing with the tears that fell before I could stop them.
Rage and grief nearly swallowed me whole. I lifted my head, my eyes burning red. "Remember what you did today. All of you."
I clutched the bloodstained shards and stormed out. I pressed my back against the cold door, fighting to steady the storm inside me.
Then I heard my father's voice through the door. A low, contemptuous laugh.
"Ignore her. Piers already has her assets. She won't be living the good life much longer."
The chill started in my chest and spread outward until it reached every limb, every fingertip.
So my father hadn't just known. He was an accomplice.
The last thread of love I'd held for him turned to ash in that moment.
But he was wrong. The one running out of good days wasn't me.
It was them.
"But Grandma Abbott fainted because of me. She's definitely going to blame me..."
Grandma? My heart seized.
"I've already taken care of things at the hospital. Don't worry."
Piers's voice was light, almost careless, but it sent ice through my fingertips.
There was a time when he'd rush to Grandma's side at the slightest sign of discomfort, refusing to leave until she was better.
Back then, he'd told me, "I love you, so of course I'll take care of the people you love."
But if everything he'd ever done for me was a lie, why would he lift a finger for Grandma?
He went on. "This isn't your fault. She's old. These things happen. And to make sure Geraldine doesn't come after you over this, I won't let the old woman wake up."
Every drop of blood in my body ran backward.
His "taking care of things" had nothing to do with getting Grandma better treatment.
He was trading her life for Julie's peace of mind.
To protect that woman, he wouldn't even spare my last living relative.
I stumbled out of the restaurant, dialing Grandma's number with shaking hands. A hospital nurse picked up. I demanded the address and raced there.
The moment I burst through the door of her room, I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Grandma lay motionless, her ashen face threaded with tubes, unconscious and utterly still.
I took her withered hand as gently as I could. The tears came instantly.
Just days ago on the phone, her voice had been strong and sure. I'll always have your back, she'd said.