Chapter 22 - GWENDOLYN’S LETTER FROM PRISON
Two years into her sentence, Gwendolyn wrote.
I could refuse.
I read.
Lucas,
I spent the first year believing Florence ruined my life.
Then:
That belief was easier than admitting I made her body the place where I fought your family’s money.
Better.
She described her debt.
Shame.
How every comment from Florence became proof she was being judged.
How Arden Ridge’s offer felt like rescue.
Then:
I started changing pills because I wanted her easier to manage. Later I realized if she appeared confused, the conservatorship became easier too. Both reasons became true.
There.
Fuller accountability.
I never intended to kill her. I did intend to make her less capable of resisting me.
That sentence mattered.
Then the cleaner.
I wanted the folder location. I also wanted to humiliate her because she had humiliated me. There is no financial explanation that makes that less ugly.
No request for forgiveness.
At the end:
You were not weak for loving her. I was wrong to treat love like an obstacle.
I stored the letter.
Did not answer.
Florence asked if I read it.
“Yes.”
“Good?”
“Better.”
“Relationship?”
“No.”
May you like
She nodded.
Nothing else.
