Chapter 20 - SABINE CHOOSES A SIDE WITHOUT BECOMING A HERO
Sabine’s testimony was ugly for both of them.
She admitted:
She moved belongings into my house without permission.
She priced Ione’s property.
She helped sell the bed.
She photographed the cleared room.
She knew I intended Ione to move with me.
She suspected Mother’s consent paperwork was not genuine.
She still stayed involved because she needed housing and because Mother told her the guardianship would “fix everything.”
Then:
“Did you benefit?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Free place to stay if Theron moved.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
No child money.
No secret trust.
Then:
“Did Miles ask for Ione’s bedroom?”
“No.”
“Did you tell Ione Miles deserved it?”
“I said he needed it more.”
“Why?”
“I was angry and embarrassed.”
At a six-year-old.
No excuse.
Then the key question.
“Did Melisande tell you Theron abandoned Ione?”
“Yes.”
“Did you believe it?”
“At first.”
“When did you stop?”
“When he came home and looked shocked.”
There.
Then:
“Why did you continue arguing?”
“Because admitting I was wrong meant admitting I had helped sell a child’s bed.”
Honest.
Then Sabine produced one text she had not initially disclosed because it was archived under an old device backup.
MOTHER:
If Theron challenges us, say he told you directly Ione was staying.
SABINE:
He didn’t.
MOTHER:
He told me. Same thing.
SABINE:
No.
Mother replied:
Family needs one story.
There.
One story.
That was the core.
Mother thought family unity meant one version of reality.
Hers.
Then Sabine said:
“I will not say he told me.”
She didn’t.
That message helped her credibility.
Then her own consequence.
Civil settlement for Ione’s property.
She reimbursed a portion.
Agreed no contact without Theron’s approval for three months.
No criminal charge because evidence did not establish she knowingly stole property for personal gain beyond the household dispute and items were largely recovered.
Fine.
Then she asked:
“Can Miles still see Ione?”
“Yes.”
Not contingent on forgiving her.
May you like
Children separate.
Good.
