Chapter 11 - THE DAY HANNAH REFUSED THE CHECK
Grant Wexler came to the hospital one final time before his own legal proceedings began.
He requested a meeting through Rebecca.
I agreed.
We sat in a small conference room.
Rebecca remained beside me.
Grant placed an envelope on the table.
I stared at it.
“What is that?”
“A check.”
“For what?”
“Your medical expenses. Hope's care. Anything you need.”
I looked at him.
“Is this a settlement?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
Grant swallowed.
“Because I caused harm.”
I looked down at the envelope.
For a moment, I thought about the bills.
The mortgage.
The crib Owen never assembled.
The nights I'd spent calculating whether I could afford groceries.
Then I pushed the envelope back.
“I won't take money from you privately.”
Grant looked surprised.
“Why?”
“Because what happened wasn't a misunderstanding between two people.”
I leaned forward.
“You assaulted a pregnant employee in front of fourteen witnesses.”
“You tried to fire me.”
“You used your money to intimidate people.”
“And you helped conceal information about the fire that killed my husband.”
Grant lowered his eyes.
“I know.”
I continued.
“If there's compensation, it goes through lawyers and the courts.”
He nodded.
“Understood.”
I stood.
“Hope doesn't need you to be generous.”
My voice trembled.
“She needs you to be accountable.”
Grant looked up.
For the first time, he didn't argue.
May you like
He simply said:
“You're right.”
