Chapter 13
Victor sent Noah an apology nine months later.
Not directly.
Through his lawyer to the child therapist.
The first draft was rejected.
It said:
I became too focused on protecting the family and made mistakes in how I disciplined you.
Noah’s therapist returned it.
Victor tried again.
The second version was different.
I made rules you did not need.
I punished you for breaking rules I created.
I held you down when you were not dangerous.
I used what happened to you in business reports because I wanted my company to keep a contract.
I told you staying quiet protected other people’s jobs. That was wrong.
The consequences I faced came from my choices, not from you telling your dad.
Gabriel read it.
So did Laura.
The therapist suggested preserving it until Noah either asked about Victor or was older.
Gabriel agreed.
Emma asked about him sooner.
“Is Victor poor now?”
“No.”
“Does he have his company?”
“Not anymore.”
“Because Noah?”
Gabriel felt the same poison trying to survive.
“No.”
Emma watched him.
“Because Victor did things?”
“Yes.”
She nodded.
Then:
“He was nice to me.”
Gabriel knew.
That was part of what made the situation confusing for her.
“He could be.”
“Does that mean he wasn’t bad?”
Gabriel thought carefully.
“It means people are more complicated than one word.”
Emma looked dissatisfied.
“He hurt Noah.”
“Yes.”
“He gave me my bike.”
“Yes.”
“So what am I supposed to think?”
Gabriel smiled sadly.
“You’re allowed to think both.”
Emma did not need to hate Victor in order to believe Noah.
Noah did not need to forget Victor’s earlier kindness in order to understand the abuse.
May you like
The family had spent too long turning loyalty into all-or-nothing thinking.
Gabriel wanted his children to do better.
