The note from Samuel Price was worse than Olivia had described.<\/p>\n
Derek read it in Rebecca\u2019s office the next morning.<\/p>\n
Marjorie Hale reports Derek is emotionally unstable following Thomas\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
She states he has developed problematic alcohol use.<\/p>\n
Possible gambling behavior.<\/p>\n
Recommends continued temporary administration until he stabilizes.<\/p>\n
Derek stared at the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was working sixty hours a week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI barely drank.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never gambled.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
His hands shook.<\/p>\n
Olivia sat across the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe needed a reason to keep control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek laughed without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe invented a broken version of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one contradicted him.<\/p>\n
A second Price note showed skepticism.<\/p>\n
Samuel had asked for documentation.<\/p>\n
Marjorie supplied none.<\/p>\n
Yet estate matters were already complicated.<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
Restitution dispute.<\/p>\n
Trust registration.<\/p>\n
Cedar Ridge pressure.<\/p>\n
Samuel delayed formal transfer.<\/p>\n
Then months became years.<\/p>\n
Derek looked at Rebecca.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas that legal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome delays appear defensible. Later ones are more questionable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Price fail me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca considered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some ways, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer surprised him.<\/p>\n
She continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe appears to have believed he was preventing a larger family fight. He also documented concerns about Marjorie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why didn\u2019t he call me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSame pattern everyone keeps falling into.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek looked toward Olivia.<\/p>\n
\u201cProtecting me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr avoiding conflict while calling it protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Thomas.<\/p>\n
Martin.<\/p>\n
Samuel.<\/p>\n
Marjorie.<\/p>\n
Even Olivia, for a time, had gathered evidence quietly because she believed direct confrontation would fail.<\/p>\n
Everyone around him had decided what truth he could handle.<\/p>\n
Some for good reasons.<\/p>\n
Some selfish ones.<\/p>\n
Some both.<\/p>\n
And Derek himself had spent years choosing not to know whenever knowing threatened peace.<\/p>\n
He stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want full control of the trust reviewed immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat process is already underway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Ruth stays protected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want Mom using the property for legal fees.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends on ownership rights and court orders, but we can seek restrictions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca made a note.<\/p>\n
Olivia watched him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAngrier?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClearer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek looked again at Price\u2019s notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m tired of being described by people who benefit from me not reading the paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
That afternoon, prosecutors interviewed Derek formally.<\/p>\n
They asked about his drinking.<\/p>\n
Gambling.<\/p>\n
Financial history.<\/p>\n
Employment.<\/p>\n
Marjorie\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n
He answered everything.<\/p>\n
Bank records supported him.<\/p>\n
Employment records supported him.<\/p>\n
No gambling evidence existed.<\/p>\n
The invented instability became another documented piece of Marjorie\u2019s effort to maintain control.<\/p>\n
After the interview, Harris stopped him in the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother wants to amend her statement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe admits making false representations about your condition after Thomas died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause evidence proved it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s part of why people amend statements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she want me there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came immediately.<\/p>\n
Harris nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll tell her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek walked away.<\/p>\n
Halfway down the hall, he stopped.<\/p>\n
Then returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll see her one more time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went anyway.<\/p>\n
Marjorie sat across the interview table.<\/p>\n
This time Derek felt almost no urge to comfort her.<\/p>\n
That frightened him at first.<\/p>\n
Then he understood numbness could be temporary.<\/p>\n
It did not mean he had become cruel.<\/p>\n
Marjorie started speaking immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lied to Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said things about you that weren\u2019t true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou weren\u2019t drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never gambled.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said it because Samuel wanted to transfer control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marjorie looked confused.<\/p>\n
Derek leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep confessing facts after someone else proves them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face collapsed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair would\u2019ve been telling me eight years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought if I lost the trust, Kline would destroy me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you kept me out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made Samuel think I couldn\u2019t handle my own life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used Dad\u2019s death to make the lie believable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marjorie covered her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek watched her.<\/p>\n
For the first time, he saw how remorse and self-pity could exist together.<\/p>\n
He needed to distinguish them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you plan to give me control?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marjorie lowered her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Kline was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could\u2019ve been never.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the debt was paid?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could\u2019ve been never too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo really, you didn\u2019t have a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you to hear something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marjorie looked frightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m listening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not cutting you off because Olivia told me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not doing it because Dad told me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marjorie\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m doing it because I need to.\u201d<\/p>\n
She began crying.<\/p>\n
Derek continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what relationship we\u2019ll have later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDerek.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He raised one hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not taking your calls unless they come through your attorney or concern something specific I actually need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marjorie\u2019s mouth trembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not managing your bills.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded weakly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not arranging your defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another nod.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not explaining you to relatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tears ran freely now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not asking Olivia to forgive you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marjorie looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m not using your fear as a reason to abandon my boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Marjorie whispered, \u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek felt the old reflex.<\/p>\n
Give a timeline.<\/p>\n
Ease her panic.<\/p>\n
Promise reunion.<\/p>\n
He did not.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t just leave me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can leave this room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice became desperate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The sentence that had governed his entire life.<\/p>\n
He opened them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marjorie waited.<\/p>\n
Derek said, \u201cAnd that doesn\u2019t mean you get unlimited access to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared.<\/p>\n
The words seemed almost incomprehensible to her.<\/p>\n
Derek stood.<\/p>\n
Marjorie began sobbing.<\/p>\n
He felt pain.<\/p>\n
Guilt.<\/p>\n
Sadness.<\/p>\n
But he did not sit back down.<\/p>\n
At the door, she called his name.<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you still love me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek looked back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marjorie cried harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are you leaving?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I finally understand those are two different questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
He walked out.<\/p>\n
Olivia was not waiting this time.<\/p>\n
Derek was glad.<\/p>\n
He needed the choice to belong entirely to him.<\/p>\n
Outside, he sat in his truck.<\/p>\n
His phone remained silent.<\/p>\n
For once, nobody needed him urgently.<\/p>\n
No crisis.<\/p>\n
No demand.<\/p>\n
No family emergency requiring immediate surrender.<\/p>\n
The emptiness felt unfamiliar.<\/p>\n
Then peaceful.<\/p>\n
That evening, Olivia came to the apartment they had once shared.<\/p>\n
Derek had changed the locks.<\/p>\n
Marjorie\u2019s key no longer worked.<\/p>\n
Neither did the lost spare.<\/p>\n
He had installed a new security system and given Olivia temporary access because several of her remaining belongings were still there.<\/p>\n
She entered carrying two boxes.<\/p>\n
Derek stood near the kitchen.<\/p>\n
The apartment still looked bare.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can take anything that\u2019s yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI made a list of things I wasn\u2019t sure about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
He handed her a sheet.<\/p>\n
No sentimental argument.<\/p>\n
No attempt to turn shared objects into reasons for conversation.<\/p>\n
Olivia read it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou put the coffee machine under mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou bought it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe bought it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou researched it for three weeks. Morally, it\u2019s yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed.<\/p>\n
Derek smiled.<\/p>\n
They packed quietly.<\/p>\n
At one point, Olivia found their wedding album in a cabinet.<\/p>\n
Both stopped.<\/p>\n
She held it.<\/p>\n
Derek did not speak.<\/p>\n
Olivia sat on the floor.<\/p>\n
Turned one page.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
Photographs of people who had not yet understood the structure around them.<\/p>\n
Derek sat several feet away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe looked happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat feels strange.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause now I keep wondering whether it was real.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia closed the album.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven with everything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
She considered.<\/p>\n
\u201cReal things can still become unhealthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek nodded.<\/p>\n
He looked toward the empty wall where their photographs once hung.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talked to Mom today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her no direct calls.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyebrows rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you feel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I abandoned someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said it carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cI set a boundary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound like a therapist brochure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI paid enough. I\u2019m stealing phrases.\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed again.<\/p>\n
Then silence.<\/p>\n
Derek looked at the divorce papers on the counter.<\/p>\n
Olivia followed his gaze.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still haven\u2019t filed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not going to ask why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause whatever your reason is, it belongs to you until you want to tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s annoyingly healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled.<\/p>\n
Then her expression became serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t filed because I wanted to know whether the person I married was still there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek\u2019s throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI also don\u2019t know if that person is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia placed the wedding album beside her box.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you to understand something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m listening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we ever try again, this can\u2019t become a story where your mother was the villain and we were just collateral.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek nodded immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Really hear me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made mistakes too. I stayed quiet too long. I started investigating instead of leaving sooner. I stopped telling you things because I expected you to fail me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek opened his mouth.<\/p>\n
Olivia raised a hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not blaming myself for what your mother did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if we rebuild anything, I don\u2019t want us pretending only one family dynamic mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek absorbed that.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy conflict avoidance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour withdrawal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy loyalty tests.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour secret evidence folder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia winced.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat one was justified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe. Still not a healthy marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek nodded.<\/p>\n
The distinction felt mature in a way neither found comforting.<\/p>\n
He asked, \u201cWould you consider couples therapy someday?\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hope moved through him.<\/p>\n
He did not reach for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re getting very good at saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in intensive training.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia looked down at the album.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not moving back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not stopping the separation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m willing to keep talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek\u2019s chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time she smiled.<\/p>\n
They finished packing.<\/p>\n
Before Olivia left, she stood at the door.<\/p>\n
Derek remained in the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood night.\u201d<\/p>\n
She hesitated.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cDerek.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father would probably be proud of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
Olivia immediately shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry. I shouldn\u2019t tell you what a dead man would think.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably not.\u201d<\/p>\n
She reached for the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Martin might approve of the highlighter system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she left.<\/p>\n
Derek locked the door behind her.<\/p>\n
Not against her.<\/p>\n
Against the old idea that love required leaving every door open.<\/p>\n
The note from Samuel Price was worse than Olivia had described. Derek read it in Rebecca\u2019s office the next morning. Marjorie Hale reports Derek is emotionally unstable following Thomas\u2019s death. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23049"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23084,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23049\/revisions\/23084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}