Chapter 12 - THE NIGHT NORA DISAPPEARED
I left Chicago for a month.
Not because I was afraid.
Because I needed space.
I traveled to a small coastal town in Maine.
Rented a cottage.
Walked along the shore.
Read books.
And remembered what it felt like to make decisions without considering dangerous men.
Vincent didn't contact me.
Not once.
I told myself that was good.
And it was.
But sometimes, when I walked beside the ocean, I thought about him.
The way he'd smiled at me in the restaurant.
The way he'd looked terrified when I walked away.
The way he'd accepted my refusal outside the courthouse.
I began to understand something.
Vincent wasn't a good man simply because he loved me.
Love didn't erase manipulation.
But people could change.
If they chose to.
During my time away, Vincent continued cooperating with investigators.
He began separating his legitimate businesses from criminal operations.
He stepped back from several violent associations.
And he started therapy.
I learned these things through Claire.
Not because Vincent wanted me to know.
But because she believed I deserved the truth.
One evening, I sat on the beach watching the sunset.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Claire.
He's different, Nora.
I stared.
Then typed:
Maybe.
May you like
Because I wasn't ready to believe in promises.
But I was willing to believe in evidence.
