Chapter 14 - TWENTY-FIVE YEARS The sentence was twenty-five years in a maximum-security psychiatric facility.
David didn't attend the sentencing in person.
He didn't need to.
The decision was enough.
No more calls.
No more packages.
No more footsteps outside the house.
No more checking the cameras every ten minutes.
No more wondering whether a car slowing outside belonged to her.
For the first time in decades, silence felt peaceful.
David deleted his mother's contact information.
Then he stared at the empty space where her name had been.
He expected sadness.
Instead, he felt something unexpected.
Peace.
Not happiness.
Not forgiveness.
Just peace.
Leah stood behind him.
"You okay?"
David nodded.
"Yeah."
She wrapped her arms around him.
He looked toward the nursery.
Maya was asleep.
A tiny night-light illuminated her crib.
David realized something.
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Closure didn't always come in the form of an apology.
Sometimes closure was simply realizing you no longer had to wait for one.
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