Chapter 2: The Stolen Decade
The living room, once the warm center of family holidays, had become an emotional interrogation chamber.
David sat on an unopened packing crate, rubbing the back of his neck where the floor had bruised his collarbone. Amanda stood defensively by the fireplace mantle, while Arthur remained rooted to his chair, clutching a half-taped box of family albums.
Helena set her rolling suitcase by the coffee table and placed the brown paper parcel on top of the open real estate disclosures.
""Five years of amnesia, Helena?"" Amanda scoffed, though her voice lacked conviction. ""That sounds like a daytime soap opera. You walked out on Dad six months after his Alzheimer's diagnosis. You couldn't handle watching him deteriorate, so you staged an accident and ran!""
""Amanda, be quiet,"" David said softly, though he didn't look up from the floor.
""No, let her speak,"" Helena said, her hazel eyes locking onto her daughter. ""Tell me more about how I couldn't handle your father's illness. Tell me how you, Amanda, visited him twice in three years because your venture capital firm in Chicago was 'at a critical growth stage.' Tell me how you, David, promised to take over his weekend care, only to hire minimum-wage attendants so you wouldn't miss your golf retreats.""
Amanda’s cheeks flushed crimson. She opened her mouth to counter, but no words came.
""The night my car went off the bridge,"" Helena continued, her voice dropping into a low, terrifying calm, ""I hadn't slept in seventy-two hours. Your father had wandered into the snow twice that week. I was driving to the twenty-four-hour pharmacy in a blinding sleet storm to get his sedatives. The brakes failed on the icy turn. The impact crushed my skull against the steering column.""
Helena reached up and pushed back her short blonde hair, revealing a thick, silver surgical scar running from behind her right ear into her hairline.
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""When I woke up in St. Jude’s Charity Ward, I didn't know what year it was. I didn't know who Charles Vance was. I didn't know I had two children who were already busy hiring probate attorneys to liquidate their father’s estate.""
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