Chapter 7 - The Shrinking Woman
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Natalie was never a weak person. That was the convenient lie they used most often because it was the absolute easiest one to repeat to outsiders.
When she was a little girl, she climbed trees far higher than I ever wanted her to. She fiercely defended a quiet, shy boy in elementary school who was mercilessly bullied for stuttering. She used to come home with bright paint on her elbows and deep grass stains on her knees because she could never make herself simply walk past someone who needed her help.
But after she married Cole, I watched her slowly, agonizingly become quieter.
At first, the changes were very small. She stopped answering my calls while he was in the room, claiming he hated the distraction. She began constantly apologizing for being tired. She stopped wearing the bright, flowing dresses she loved because Lucinda frequently commented that they made her look "far too young and totally unserious."
She missed important family dinners because Cole said they had vital business obligations to attend to.
She completely stopped painting. When I asked her why she gave it up, she forced a smile and said, "I just do not have the time anymore, Mom."
Then, she became pregnant. And everything changed much, much faster.
Lucinda aggressively moved into their luxury penthouse, claiming she was there "to help." Cole began strictly monitoring all of Natalie’s medical appointments, insisting on speaking for her to the doctors. Her phone location was actively shared with him at all times, tracking her every movement.
He insisted she stop teaching entirely after her second trimester because "the stress of the classroom could negatively affect the baby." When Natalie weakly objected, he loudly reminded her that he was the one paying the massive mortgage.
The apartment was in his name. The cars were in his name. The premium health insurance plan was deeply connected to his company.
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And because he had spent years slowly, methodically convincing her that the Hartwell trust was incredibly complicated and completely inaccessible to her without his help, Natalie began to truly feel as though she had absolutely nowhere to go.
That was what frightened me the most. Not just that my daughter had changed, but that she fundamentally believed she had no right to change back.
