Chapter 14 - Closing the Door
With Susan in jail and Dad practically a ghost, the dark cloud that had hovered over our family finally dissipated.
I was feeling stronger every day.
The pacemaker in my chest was a constant companion, a quiet ticking reminder of what I had survived.
One evening, while helping Claire unpack some of the final boxes of my mother's belongings—which we had legally recovered from the old house—I found a letter.
It was sealed in a pale blue envelope, tucked inside an old copy of The Great Gatsby.
It was addressed to me, in my mother’s handwriting.
I sat on the floor, my heart skipping a beat in a good way for once, and carefully opened it.
My dearest Leo, it read.
*If you are reading this, you are finally twenty.
I want you to know that the wealth I left behind is not for you to hoard, but for you to build a foundation.
Do not let your father's bitterness weigh you down.
Fly, my sweet boy.
Build a family of your choosing.*
Tears blurred my vision.
May you like
I looked up at Claire and Maya, laughing in the kitchen as they baked cookies.
I had already found my family.
