Chapter 6 - A New Era on the HillsideThree days after the eviction, the Elm Street house was legally mine in practice as well as on paper. But I had no intention of moving back into a structure haunted by nine years of bad memories.
Instead, I decided to put the Elm Street property up for sale—at market value, with all proceeds funneled directly into the Elena Moretti Foundation, a new charitable fund I was launching to support single mothers and displaced women seeking financial independence. Let Gwendolyn’s old socialite friends buy the house; the money would go toward a cause that actually mattered.
On a warm Wednesday afternoon, I was relaxing on the limestone patio of my Paradise Valley hillside home. The gentle desert breeze rustled through the patio ferns, and soft acoustic music played from the outdoor speakers.
My phone buzzed on the glass table. An unknown number.
I hesitated, then swiped to answer.
“Paige?”
It was my father. His voice sounded hollow, broken, and defeated.
“Samuel,” I replied neutrally.
“We... we found a small two-bedroom apartment across town,” he stammered, pausing as if waiting for some sort of reaction from me. “Gwendolyn’s credit cards have all been frozen because of legal fees, and she’s... she’s talking about filing for a separation. The life we built is completely gone, Paige.”
I took a slow sip of my iced tea, looking out over the breathtaking view of the valley below.
“You didn't build a life, Samuel,” I said softly, my voice steady and clear. “You built a hiding place. You hid behind Gwendolyn’s demands, you hid behind your silence, and you hid behind my patience because it was easier than being a real father.”
A heavy, suffocating silence stretched across the phone line. All I could hear was his ragged breathing.
“I’m your father,” he whispered finally, the last desperate card in his hand.
“A title doesn't make you a father, Samuel,” I answered calmly. “Actions do. And the last time I checked, you sat quietly at a dinner table and watched your wife throw your only daughter out into the street without blinking an eye.”
“Can we... can we ever fix this?” he asked, a pathetic crack in his voice. “Can I come visit you? Just... let me see where you’re living.”
I looked out at the massive glass walls of my hillside mansion, at the freedom and safety I had finally secured for myself.
“No, Samuel,” I said. “Enjoy your apartment. Enjoy your peace. I’ve spent my whole life keeping peace for everyone else. Now, it’s my turn.”
I ended the call, tapped the screen to block his number permanently, and tossed the phone onto the cushion beside me.
The sun was beginning to dip below the western horizon, casting a brilliant, fiery glow across the desert landscape. I closed my eyes, took a deep, uninterrupted breath of the mountain air, and smiled.
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I didn't cry when they gave me twenty-four hours to leave. I didn't yell when my father looked away. I simply packed my bags, stepped into my future, and took back my life.
And as I sat alone on my hillside paradise, I knew with absolute certainty that I had never made a better choice.
