Page 72 of Only Fate

“Thank the lords. Now, I’m taking the kids out for ice cream.” Brielle blows Rhett a kiss. “Pleasure divorcing you.” She squeezes me tight in a hug. “Thank you, Essie. I knew I could count on you.”

I watch her and her mom leave the courthouse, arm in arm.

“Fucking bitch,” Rhett mutters, scuffing his shoe against the floor.

I roll my eyes at him and move in the opposite direction as he and Adrian huddle in a corner, talking.

They shake hands, and as soon as Adrian walks away from him, Rhett is on the phone, telling someone, “I fucking got rid of her.”

“Essie.”

I whip around at the sound of my name to find Robert Sullivan coming toward me.

“I thought that was you,” he says, concern on his face.

Robert has aged some, but I’ll never forget how kindly he treated me—the teenager forced to give multiple interviews about the worst night of my life. He was one of the prosecutors in Earl’s trial. He pleaded with me to testify, but I refused. They did use my videos as evidence, though.

Robert rubs his chubby chin. “I heard about the Prison Exoneration Program taking Earl’s case. I’m sorry, Essie.”

I weakly smile at him. “You had enough evidence to put him behind bars. That should be enough to keep him there.”

Earl will be a free man one day—I know this. I just thought I’d have more time to prepare myself for it.

“Stay strong. I’ll do everything I can to keep him where he is.” He gently squeezes my shoulder and walks away.

“I’ll get there as soon as I can, okay?”

Adrian’s panicked voice grabs my attention. He’s pacing in front of the restroom, talking on the phone. I inch closer to eavesdrop.

“It’s not your fault,” he says. “Take him to the animal hospital.”

“Is everything okay?” I ask when he ends the call.

He swings around to look at me, his face as pale as a ghost. “A car hit my dog.” He stops to text on his phone. “I’m trying to find a ride, but the downside about small towns is that there are no Ubers.”

“I’ll drive you.”

He keeps texting. “You don’t need to do that.”

“Adrian, I’m already driving to Blue Beech.” I jerk my head toward the double doors and start walking. “Come on.”

“Are you sure?” he calls out.

“Let’s go to your furbaby.”

The second we get into my car, he’s back on his phone. “I’ll be there soon, Abuela. Where are you taking him?” There’s aslight pause, and he looks at me. “Blue Beech Animal Hospital.”

I exit the parking lot.

“Tell the vet to do whatever they have to do,” Adrian says. “I don’t care how much it costs.” He nods, listening to what she says on the other end.

As soon as we get to the animal hospital, I park my car, and we run inside. A few animals and their owners are in the waiting room, but thankfully, there’s no line.

Adrian rushes toward the receptionist's desk, nearly colliding with it. “They brought my dog, Tucker, in.”

“Hit by a car?” The receptionist stands.

“Yes.”

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