Chapter 23 - VIVIAN’S APOLOGY
Vivian became eligible for release before Mason because her sentence was shorter.
The victim-notification office contacted me.
I requested continued no-contact.
No personal meeting.
Vivian complied.
Two years later, she sent a mediated apology.
I approved receiving the written version.
Natalie,
I used to tell myself I hated you because Mason loved you. That was easier than admitting I hated what you represented: a door to wealth and authority I had spent my career approaching from outside. My mother taught me Hale power was stolen from her. I inherited her grievance without checking her choices. I chose the affair. I chose the plan. I chose to kick you. Mason did not move my leg.
I read that sentence twice.
Then continued.
I do not ask for forgiveness. I am trying to name my own actions without hiding behind him.
I did not reply.
I accepted the accuracy.
That was all.
Vivian returned to ordinary employment after release under restrictions preventing fiduciary roles in healthcare acquisitions for years.
She worked in administrative research for a nonprofit unrelated to Hale.
No dramatic comeback.
No secret revenge.
A person continued after consequences.
Grace asked at nineteen whether I hated Vivian.
“Less than I did.”
“Did you forgive her?”
“I stopped organizing my life around the question.”
“Is that a no?”
“It’s a different answer.”
Grace rolled her eyes.
“You adults love complicated answers.”
She was right.
May you like
Sometimes complexity was avoidance.
Sometimes it was truth.
