Chapter 10
Derek said nothing.
Nicole moved closer to Tommy.
“Robert, the bank is reviewing the transactions. My attorney says there may be ways to dispute the unauthorized activity, but you'll need independent legal advice.”
Robert nodded.
“Thank you.”
Then he looked at Derek.
“I want you to leave.”
Derek's head snapped up.
“Dad—”
“Leave.”
For a moment, I thought Derek might argue.
But he looked around the backyard and found no one willing to rescue him.
Not his mother.
Not his brother.
Not his sister.
Not his wife.
He looked at me last.
There was anger in his eyes.
But underneath it was something else.
Shame.
He walked toward the gate.
Then stopped.
“Claire.”
I looked at him.
He swallowed.
“I'm sorry about your daughter.”
I nodded once.
“Thank you.”
He glanced toward Ryan's injured lip.
“And I'm sorry I hit you.”
Ryan didn't smile.
“An apology doesn't erase what happened.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Derek looked down.
“I don't know.”
It was the first truthful thing I'd heard him say all day.
Ryan took a breath.
“Then maybe that's where you start.”
Derek left without another word.
The gate clicked shut behind him.
Nobody cheered.
Nobody celebrated.
Because there was nothing joyful about watching a family finally acknowledge how badly things had gone wrong.
But there was relief.
And sometimes relief is the first sign that healing has become possible.
I turned toward Nicole.
“Come on,” I said. “Let's get Tommy settled.”
She started crying.
Not the frightened tears she'd shed earlier.
These were different.
The tears of someone who had spent years holding her breath and had finally been given permission to exhale.
Ryan retrieved our car keys.
Before we left, Diane approached me.
Her makeup had streaked down her cheeks.
“Claire,” she whispered, “I owe you an apology.”
I looked at her.
“Yes,” I said gently. “You do.”
She nodded.
“I laughed when Derek poured beer on you.”
I didn't answer.
“I told you not to make a scene.”
Her voice broke.
“And then I watched him hurt my son.”
She wiped her eyes.
“I was so afraid of losing Derek that I stopped protecting everyone else.”
I studied her face.
For years, Diane had treated me like an outsider.
She criticized my clothes, my quiet personality, and the fact that Ryan often helped with cooking and cleaning.
She had once told me that a woman who didn't give her husband children wasn't truly fulfilling her purpose.