Chapter 6 - The Hospital Confession
A week before the court hearing, my father suffered another minor stroke.
The hospital called me because I was still listed as his emergency contact.
Against my better judgment, I went to his room, leaving Dany with a friend.
My father looked frail, hooked up to a dozen beeping machines.
My mother and Chelsea were nowhere to be found.
He opened his eyes and saw me standing at the foot of his bed.
"Lucy," he rasped, his voice barely a whisper.
"I know about the box," I told him gently but firmly.
Tears welled up in his tired eyes.
"I was too weak to stop her," he confessed, ashamed.
"She said if I told you, she would put me in a state-run home and take everything."
I realized then that my mother had been terrorizing him just as she had terrorized me.
"I will make sure you are placed in a safe, comfortable facility," I promised him.
"But I am taking back what is mine."
He nodded slowly, reaching out a trembling hand.
"You are a good mother, Lucy," he whispered.
"Dany is a lucky boy."
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It was the first time anyone in my family had acknowledged my son with respect.
I squeezed his hand once, forgave him in my heart, and walked away.
