Chapter 7

I followed the breadcrumbs. The child's drawing, the dates on the back of the family photos, the casual mentions Arthur had let slip. It led me to a high-end country club on the other side of the state. A private, members-only event. Leo's fifth birthday party.

I stood outside the ornate gates, peering through the wrought iron. Banners fluttered, bright balloons bobbed in the breeze. The sounds of children's laughter and a magician's booming voice drifted towards me. There he was. Arthur, smiling, holding Leo's hand, Karin by his side, resplendent in a designer sundress. The perfect, happy, his family. My heart, long since turned to stone, didn't even flinch.

Then I saw it. A game set up on the sprawling lawn. A large, grotesque caricature of my face was painted on a target board. Children, Leo among them, were gleefully throwing beanbags at it, trying to knock over the "Elenora" target. Leo hit it squarely, his face alight with vicious triumph. "Ugly lady falls down!" he shrieked, as the cardboard me toppled over.

A cold, hard knot of rage tightened in my gut. They were teaching him to hate me. Actively, joyfully, cruelly.

Karin, catching my eye through the fence, smirked. Her eyes, usually so calculating, now held an open, triumphant challenge. She turned to Arthur, pulling him close, her lips brushing his. A slow, possessive kiss, meant for me to witness. A public display of her victory.

Later, Leo proudly displayed a new drawing. It was a more detailed version of the family portrait, this time with him, Arthur, and Karin holding hands, standing on what appeared to be a grave. My grave.

I had to end this.

I found Karin by the buffet table, alone for a moment. "Karin," I said, my voice low, cutting through the festive din.

She turned, her eyes narrowing. "You have a death wish, Elenora? I thought I made myself clear."

"I have something for you," I said, extending a hand. In it, a thick envelope. "Arthur's signed his half. You just need to sign yours." It was the completed divorce agreement, now bearing Arthur' s signature, obtained discreetly through Clara, who had her ways.

Her eyes scanned the document, a flicker of surprise, then greedy satisfaction crossing her face. "Finally making the smart choice, are we? Giving up on that pathetic illusion of a life you had with Arthur?" She laughed, a triumphant, sneering sound. "You know, he barely put up a fight. Just signed it and asked if you were 'okay.' What a fool. Just like you."

"Just sign it, Karin," I said, my voice trembling slightly, not from fear, but from the raw desire to be free of her.

She scribbled her signature with a flourish, her eyes still fixed on mine, full of malice. "Consider yourself erased, Elenora. You never existed." She tossed the signed papers back at me, a dismissive gesture. "Now, get lost. Before Leo sets his sights on you again."

I clutched the papers, the signed divorce agreement, not as a symbol of loss, but of liberation. The knot in my chest, the constant pressure, began to loosen. A profound sense of relief, cold and clear, washed over me. I was free. Free from Arthur's lies, free from Karin's venom, free from the ghost of a child that would never be.

A new life awaited. A real one. One entirely my own.