Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 29

The next morning, Camila Davis had her usual breakfast—scrambled eggs, toast, and a cup of strong coffee—before heading to Lillian’s room to help her with physical therapy, just like always.

Halfway through their exercises, Camila’s phone suddenly rang.

For a second, she thought it might finally be Jordan calling her back. But when she checked the screen, her heart sank a little. It was her mother-in-law, Barbara Jones.

Camila hesitated. She really didn’t want to answer. Barbara never called for anything pleasant.

But after the third call in a row, Camila sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose, and picked up.

Barbara’s voice came through, sharp and impatient: “What took you so long to answer?”

Camila replied, flat and polite, “I was busy. Is there something you need?”

Barbara’s tone got even frostier. “Busy? You’re not even working right now. What could you possibly be doing?”

Before Camila could answer, Barbara barreled on, “You need to come over to the house. There’s something important I need to discuss with you.”

Lately, Camila had felt exhausted—mentally, physically, emotionally. She was in no mood to deal with Barbara’s constant criticisms.

So, without even thinking, she said, “I have to look after Lillian. If there’s something you need to say, you can tell me over the phone.”

Barbara huffed. “Camila, you’re getting more and more high and mighty, aren’t you? Now I have to beg you just to get you here?”

Camila could practically hear her mother-in-law’s annoyed eye-roll. But then Barbara seemed to remember why she called, and her tone softened just a little.

“I need you to come because it’s about Grandma Smith. She was always so good to you, and now that she’s gone, are you really just going to ignore her wishes?”

Camila’s heart skipped.

Grandma Smith?

Camila saw they hadn’t noticed her, so she gently led Lillian in and greeted them. “Morning, Mom. Morning, Dad.”

The moment they heard Camila’s voice, their expressions shifted. The warmth vanished, replaced by the same cold reserve Camila had seen so many times on Jordan’s face.

Barbara didn’t waste a second. “I had to call you three times to get you here. You really think highly of yourself, don’t you?”

Camila ignored the jab. She’d spent years trying to win Barbara over—always smiling, always polite—but she was done pretending. Now, she just got straight to the point.

“You said it was about Grandma. What is it?”

Barbara clearly wasn’t interested in small talk either. She called for the housekeeper to take Lillian to the kitchen for some snacks, then turned back to Camila.

“We’ve been going through Grandma Smith’s things,” Barbara began. “Father Patrick from Saint Mary’s says that if we keep her most cherished possessions by her memorial for the next three years, it’ll bring the Smith family good luck. I remember the old family heirloom—the jade pendant. Grandma gave it to you, didn’t she?”

Barbara paused, her gaze sharp. “For the sake of the family, we need you to hand it over. I’m sure you won’t say no—will you?”