Chapter 6
I met Mom at the county jail, in a small glass-walled visiting room.
She looked small. Broken. No makeup, her hair messy, wearing an orange jumpsuit that was too big for her. She’d lost at least 10 pounds since I’d last seen her.
She didn’t beg. She didn’t make excuses.
She just looked at me, her eyes red, and said, “I’m sorry, Daniel. I’m so, so sorry. I know there’s nothing I can say to make it right. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”
I sat across from her, my hands folded on the table, my face hard. “Why, Mom? How could you do that to Elena? To your own grandson?”
She cried, her shoulders shaking. “I’ve been gambling for 10 years. Since your dad died. It started with bingo, then slot machines, then online. I lost all my savings, then the money you gave me for birthdays and Christmas. Then the loan sharks found me. They threatened to break my legs, to hurt you if I didn’t pay. Ethan said he could get the money from the company, that you’d never notice. I let him. I was so scared.”
She paused, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her jumpsuit.
“When Elena found out, I panicked. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want Ethan to hurt her, but I was more scared of the loan sharks. I let him do it. I helped him cover it up. I told myself she was already dead, that it was too late to help her, but I knew. Deep down, I knew she might still be alive. I just didn’t want to get caught.”
I stared at her, my chest tight. The woman who’d raised me was gone. Replaced by a stranger who’d chosen gambling and fear over her own family.
Her lawyer had told me the deal: Mom would plead guilty to all charges, testify fully against Ethan and Dr. Hale, give the police every detail of the embezzlement and cover-up, complete two years of inpatient gambling addiction treatment, and pay back every cent she’d stolen from me. In exchange, I’d recommend to the judge that she get probation instead of prison time.
“I’ll agree to the deal,” I said, my voice cold. “But on one condition.”
She leaned forward, her eyes wide. “Anything. Name it.”
“You stay away from Elena and Liam. No contact, no visits, no letters. Not until a team of therapists says you’re no threat to them. Not until Elena says she’s ready to see you. If you break that, I’ll personally make sure you spend the rest of your life in prison. Do you understand?”
She nodded, sobbing. “I understand. I’ll do it. I’ll do anything to make this right.”
I stood up to leave. She called my name, soft, like she was scared I’d disappear forever.
“Daniel?”
I turned, my hand on the door handle.
“Tell Elena I’m sorry. Tell her I’d give my life to take back what I did. Tell Liam… tell him his grandma loves him, even if he never gets to know me.”
I didn’t answer. I just walked out.
Outside, the sun was setting, painting the sky pink and orange. I called Elena, told her about the deal.
“Are you sure?” she said, her voice gentle. “You don’t have to do this for me. I don’t care if she goes to prison.”
“I know,” I said. “But I can’t handle the thought of her dying in there, hating myself for the rest of her life. This way, she has to pay for what she did. She has to get better. And if she doesn’t? She goes away forever.”
Elena was quiet for a second. “Okay. If that’s what you need. I trust you.”
I hung up, leaning against the hood of my car, and let out a long breath.
May you like
It wasn’t forgiveness. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
But it was a start.
