Chapter 41

NATHAN Istare at the cell phone in my hand and try to remember if I called my brother or he called me. My chest is tight, my heart racing and lungs burning for oxygen, but I seem to have forgotten how to breathe. I’m snapped back to reality when I hear Elijah’s voice distantly yelling my name. I stare blankly at the screen for a long second, then hold it to my ear. “She knew, Elijah,” I rasp. “Nathan, you’re not making sense. What?” “Mel fucking knew!” For lack of a better target, I direct my venomous rage at him. “Knew what? About what happened in Chicago?” Sucking in a series of deep breaths, I take a few beats to regain my composure before telling my brother all about my lying bitch of a wife and her family’s scheme to fleece me for whatever money they could get their filthy hands on. He’s quiet while I purge the whole story. “So they set you up? Mel too?” he asks incredulously. “Fuck, Nathan.” I drop my head into my hands, not wanting to believe it myself, but she confirmed it with