The daughter exposed her mother's secret affair

Chapter 18: The For Sale Sign

Returning to the mansion that afternoon, the sheer size of the property felt oppressive.

The vaulted ceilings seemed to mock them. The grand staircase felt like a monument to a dead dynasty. Every room held a memory that had now been retroactively poisoned.

Emma stood in the grand foyer, looking at the intricate chandelier hanging above them.

"We can't stay here," Emma said aloud.

Richard stopped taking off his overcoat. He looked at his daughter, then looked around the cavernous space.

"It's our home, Emma."

"No, it isn't," she said firmly. "It's a museum. It's a crime scene. I don't want to walk past the guest house ever again. I don't want to sit at a dining table built for ten when there's only two of us."

Richard stared at the grand, sweeping architecture that he had paid millions to build. He saw the ghosts of his own failure clinging to the crown molding.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed his real estate broker.

"List it," Richard said into the receiver. "Tonight. Sell it fully furnished. I don't want a single piece of furniture coming with us."