Chapter 1 - Everyone Leaves Except Them
Ethan Walker stepped out of his truck with a folder of property documents pressed against his chest.
His father stood in the gravel driveway holding a broom.
Arthur’s flannel shirt was soaked through with sweat. His shoulders had narrowed, and his back bent slightly as though six years had placed more weight on him than age alone could explain.
Helen stood near the porch with a laundry basket against her hip.
On the shaded steps, Ethan’s sister-in-law Jessica drank iced tea while her mother, Susan, rested her expensive sandals on a second chair.
Brooke, Jessica’s younger sister, sat near the porch railing and avoided Ethan’s eyes.
Jessica rose quickly when she saw the folder.
“What are those?”
Ethan looked from the broom in his father’s hands to the laundry basket his mother carried.
“Dad… why are you sweeping your own driveway?”
Arthur lowered his eyes.
Jessica came down the steps.
“Don’t start drama. They wanted to help.”
Ethan opened the folder.
“I bought this house for my parents.”
Jessica reached for the documents, but he pulled them back.
“Not for them to live like servants.”
Helen began crying quietly.
For the first time, Arthur looked directly at his son.
Ethan stepped between his parents and the porch.
“Tonight, everyone leaves except my mother and father.”
May you like
Jessica’s expression collapsed.
The broom slipped from Arthur’s hand and landed softly on the gravel.
