Chapter 14
The next few years were peaceful.
Quiet.
Happy.
Evelyn was in prison.
And she stayed there.
No letters. No appeals. No contact.
Nothing.
It was like she had finally given up.
Or maybe she was just biding her time.
But we didn't care.
We were enjoying our life.
Our family.
Our freedom.
Daniel was ten now.
He was doing great in school.
He was playing soccer. He had lots of friends.
He was happy.
Healthy.
Safe.
Grace was three.
She was a bundle of energy.
Curious. Funny. Loving.
She kept us on our toes.
Mark and I were happier than ever.
Our marriage was strong.
Stronger than ever.
We had been through so much together.
And we had come out the other side.
Better.
Stronger.
More in love.
We had built a beautiful life.
A life full of love and laughter and hope.
And we were grateful.
Every single day.
One day, we got a letter.
From the prison.
Not from Evelyn.
From the prison chaplain.
He told us that Evelyn was sick.
Very sick.
Cancer.
She didn't have much time.
A few months at most.
And she was asking to see us.
To see Daniel.
She wanted to apologize.
She wanted to make amends.
Before she died.
Mark and I talked about it.
For a long time.
We didn't owe her anything.
She had hurt us. Terribly.
She had tried to destroy our lives.
She had terrorized our son.
But...
She was dying.
And she was Mark's mother.
And Daniel's grandmother.
Even if she had no legal rights.
Even if she was a terrible person.
She was still family.
In a way.
In the end, we decided to go.
But not Daniel.
He was too young.
He didn't need to see her like that.
He didn't need to be confused.
Mark and I would go.
Alone.
We would hear what she had to say.
We would give her that much.
May you like
But that was all.
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