CHAPTER 13 — FREEDOM FROM THE ASHES
CHAPTER 13 — FREEDOM FROM THE ASHES
Six months later.
Vanessa walked Carter to school.
No private driver. No multi-layered security gates.
They walked beneath maple trees whose leaves were changing color.
Carter was talking nonstop about a science project, his hands waving in the air.
He had gained a little weight. His eyes were brighter. The defensive reflexes were completely gone.
Vanessa listened, smiling and asking the occasional question.
A luxury car drove past, splashing a small puddle onto the edge of the sidewalk.
Vanessa pulled Carter back slightly.
She watched the car go.
It looked exactly like the one Scott used to drive.
A year ago, if she were sitting in that car, she would look out and judge the pedestrians on the sidewalk. She would think her safety lay in bulletproof glass and the black card in her wallet.
But now, standing here, with a little wet mud on her shoes, she felt a strange, profound relief.
No more suffocating dinners.
No more pretending not to notice the cruelty wrapped in the guise of tradition.
No more teaching her son how to be callous just to survive.
They had lost the mansion.
They had lost millions of dollars.
But as Vanessa reached down and held Carter’s small, warm hand, she understood the ultimate truth.
The system didn’t strip them of anything.
It saved them.
May you like
Because sometimes, the only way to win a toxic game...
Is to be permanently stripped of your right to play it.
