Chapter 1

"I need the money, Sarah," Mark said, his voice smooth and confident. "All of it. It's for us."

He talked about a new business venture, a sure thing that would set them up for life. He described a future with a bigger house, a better life for their baby boy, Liam. His eyes shined with the promise of it all.

Sarah looked from his handsome face to the cradle where Liam slept soundly. She trusted Mark. She loved him. This was the man she had built her life with.

She went to the bank the next morning and withdrew their entire life savings. The account was now empty. She handed the thick envelope of cash to Mark without a second thought. He kissed her, told her she wouldn't regret it, and walked out the door.

A week later, Liam started coughing. It was a small, dry sound at first, but it quickly grew worse. His small body felt hot to the touch. A creeping fear began to settle in Sarah' s stomach.

The doctor' s office was cold and sterile. Dr. Reed' s face was grim as he looked at the test results. He spoke in a low, gentle voice, but his words hit Sarah like a physical blow.

"It's his heart," he explained. "A congenital defect. He needs surgery, immediately."

The cost he quoted was a number so large, Sarah couldn't even process it. All she heard was "immediately." She fumbled for her phone, her hands shaking as she dialed Mark's number.

"Mark, it's Liam. He's sick. The doctor said he needs an operation right away. We need the money."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. When Mark finally spoke, his voice was cold, distant. "The money's gone, Sarah. It's tied up in the investment."

"What do you mean, it's gone?" Panic tightened her chest. "Mark, this is life or death. Can't you get it back?"

"Don't be so dramatic," he snapped. "It's a business deal. I can't just pull out. He's probably just got a bad cold. You're overreacting."

The line went dead. Sarah stared at her phone, the silence screaming in her ears. He didn't believe her. He didn't care.

Desperation took over. Sarah found a second job waiting tables at a diner, working from six in the evening until two in the morning. After a few hours of restless sleep, she went to her day job as a receptionist. On weekends, she cleaned houses.

She ran on caffeine and fear, her body aching with exhaustion. Every dollar she earned went into a growing pile of cash in a shoebox under her bed. It was never enough. Liam' s medical bills piled up, each one a stark reminder of how little time she had.

She was scrubbing a stranger' s floor when the hospital called. Liam had taken a turn for the worse. She raced to his side, but it was too late. Her son, her beautiful baby boy, died in a sterile hospital room while she was on her knees cleaning for someone else. The grief was a physical weight, crushing the air from her lungs.

The funeral home was quiet and dimly lit. The director spoke in hushed, sympathetic tones about caskets and services. Sarah shook her head, tears blurring her vision.

"I can't," she whispered. "I can't afford any of this."

In the end, she paid a small fee for a private cremation. They handed her Liam's ashes in a plain cardboard box. It was all she could afford. She carried the box home, holding it to her chest as if it were Liam himself.

A few days later, walking home from work, her feet dragging with a weariness that went bone-deep, she saw him. Mark. He was standing outside a high-end jewelry store, a brightly lit beacon on the dark street.

He was laughing, his arm wrapped around a woman with sleek blonde hair. Sarah recognized her from Mark' s office parties. Jessica White. As Sarah watched, frozen on the sidewalk, Mark presented Jessica with a velvet box. Jessica opened it, her face lighting up as she pulled out a glittering diamond necklace.

She threw her arms around Mark' s neck and kissed him. They looked happy, carefree. They looked like they didn' t have a single worry in the world.

The truth crashed down on Sarah with dizzying force. There was no investment. There was no business venture. There was only Jessica. He had taken their life savings, their future, their son' s only chance at life, and he had spent it on another woman.

Back in the empty, silent apartment, Sarah moved like a robot. She pulled a suitcase from the closet and started packing. A few clothes. Her toothbrush. The cardboard box with Liam's ashes.

Just as she was about to leave, the door opened. It was Mark. His face was a mask of concern and remorse.

"Sarah? What are you doing? Where are you going?" he asked, his voice soft with feigned worry. He rushed to her side, trying to take the suitcase from her hand. "Don't leave. We can get through this together."

Sarah looked at the man she once loved, the father of her dead child, and felt nothing but a cold, empty void. He followed her out of the apartment, begging her to stay. He followed her to the funeral home the next day when she went to pay the final bill.

He made a scene in the quiet lobby, pulling a wad of cash from his wallet and thrusting it at her in front of the director. "Here," he said loudly, his voice filled with false pity. "I know things have been tough. Let me help you with this."

He made it sound like a handout, like she was a charity case he was benevolently helping. The funeral director looked at Sarah with sympathy. Humiliation burned in her cheeks, hot and bitter. She needed the money. She had borrowed from a friend to cover the cremation.

She took the cash from his hand, her fingers brushing against his. His skin felt alien. She paid the bill, her movements stiff and mechanical, then turned and walked away without a word.

She went back to the apartment one last time. The air was thick with memories. Liam's half-finished baby mobile hung over the empty crib. A tiny pair of shoes sat by the door. She remembered painting these walls, full of hope for the family they were building. She had poured her entire self into this future.

It was all a lie. A ghost of a life she thought she had. Everything was gone.