He pulled out several folded pages and placed them in my hands.
“You need to sit down.”
The first thing I noticed was the letterhead.
It belonged to my father’s law firm.
Then I saw the title.
Marriage and Care Agreement.
My eyes moved down the page.
The document offered Ben a six-figure payment if he married Rosie and assumed responsibility for her daily care, legal matters, housing, and future medical needs.
There was a payment schedule.
Conditions.
Confidentiality clauses.
My parents’ signatures appeared at the bottom.
So did Ben’s.
A scream tore from my throat.
“You sold yourself to marry my sister?”
Ben flinched.
“No.”
“Your signature is right there!”
“Please listen.”
“She is fighting for her life while you stand here holding a contract that paid you to become her husband.”
“I never took the money.”
“You agreed to it!”
People at the far end of the corridor turned toward us.
I no longer cared.
“Was she a job to you?” I demanded. “Was that what the wedding was? A business arrangement?”
Ben sank against the wall.
Tears ran down his face.
“I never cashed a single check.”
I stopped.
“What?”
“Every payment they sent went into a separate account in Rosie’s name.”
He pulled another document from his pocket.
“Every dollar. The original amount, the interest, everything.”
I stared at the account statement.
