Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN WHO STOPPED HIDING
Six months later, Dela returned to Northwestern.
Not as a student.
As a guest lecturer.
Her old professor introduced her.
"Delilah Hawthorne graduated at the top of her class."
Dela smiled.
Seven years ago, she had walked away from the law.
She had believed grief had ended that part of her life.
Now she stood in front of two hundred students and opened a contract.
"Legal documents aren't just words."
The room became quiet.
"They are promises. They are weapons. They are shields. And sometimes, they're designed to hide the truth in plain sight."
She taught them how to identify predatory clauses.
How to follow money.
How to question signatures.
How to protect people who didn't have the money to hire expensive lawyers.
After the lecture, Gus waited outside.
He held a small box.
Dela frowned.
"What is that?"
"A fountain pen."
She opened it.
Blue.
Engraved.
DELILAH HAWTHORNE.
Her eyes filled.
"My mother bought this before graduation."
"I know."
She looked at him.
"How?"
"Your husband mentioned it once."
Dela ran her thumb across the engraving.
For seven years, the pen had remained unused.
Now she held it differently.
Not as a reminder of the career she lost.
As a reminder of the one she could still choose.
She looked at Gus.
"I don't need you to save me."
"I know."
"I don't need your money."
"I know."
"I don't need your name."
He smiled.
"Then what do you need?"
Dela looked toward the stroller beside them.
"I need you to keep being honest."
Gus nodded.
May you like
"I can do that."
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