coat pocket.
Her hands trembled as she pulled out a small phone.
“I didn’t know if anyone would believe me.”
Her voice broke.
“So I started recording.”
My heart shattered.
My wife had been suffering alone…
and still she was trying to protect herself.
I walked to her and held her hand.
“You don’t have to prove anything anymore.”
Then I looked at my mother.
“The million dollars was never real.”
The color drained from her face.
“What?”
I smiled.
“It was a test.”
Nobody moved.
“I wanted to know if you cared that I was home…”
“Or if you only cared about what I could bring home.”
Theresa stared at me.
“You lied to us?”
I looked at Lucy.
“No.”
“I finally told the truth.”
That night, I took my wife to the hospital.
The doctors confirmed what we already knew.
Her condition was serious.
But they also said
