Chapter 11 - THE SISTER WHO CAME BACK IN HANDCUFFS
Camille was arrested in March.
Investigators had located her after she attempted to leave the state using a false identity.
She faced allegations related to financial transactions and her role in the Blackwater scheme.
Vivian learned the news from Daniel.
She sat in her small rented apartment, holding Elias against her chest.
He had finally been discharged from the NICU.
He was home.
Small.
Healthy enough to leave the hospital with follow-up care.
And utterly perfect.
When Daniel told her about Camille, Vivian closed her eyes.
“Is she okay?”
“She is in custody and has legal representation.”
Vivian nodded.
For a moment, she remembered Camille as a little girl.
Blonde pigtails.
Scraped knees.
Running into Vivian's arms after a nightmare.
She remembered teaching her to ride a bicycle.
Helping with homework.
Giving her the last piece of birthday cake.
Then she remembered the billiard room.
Matteo's hands.
Camille's laughter.
The kiss.
Vivian pressed Elias closer.
“Does she want to see me?”
Daniel hesitated.
“She asked.”
Vivian looked toward the window.
“I'm not ready.”
“Then you don't have to.”
She nodded.
Weeks passed.
Then Camille sent a letter through her attorney.
Vivian read it alone.
Viv,
I know I don't deserve your forgiveness.
I was jealous of you my whole life. I hated how everyone trusted you. I hated how Dad praised you. I hated that you married a man who could give you everything I wanted.
When Salerno offered me money, I told myself I was only taking what life had denied me.
I was wrong.
I hurt you because I wanted you to feel as small as I did.
I'm sorry.
Vivian read the letter twice.
Then she folded it.
She didn't cry.
Not immediately.
Instead, she looked at Elias.
He was sleeping in his bassinet.
His tiny mouth moved as though he were dreaming.
Vivian thought about the family she'd grown up in.
The comparisons.
The competition.
The resentment nobody had addressed.
She wondered how much pain could have been avoided if Camille had learned that love wasn't something sisters had to fight over.
But wondering didn't change what happened.
Vivian placed the letter in a drawer.
She wasn't ready to forgive.
And she no longer believed forgiveness was something she owed.
That evening, Matteo arrived for his scheduled visit with Elias.
He brought diapers.
Formula.
And a ridiculous stuffed elephant almost as large as the baby.
Vivian stared at it.
“Matteo.”
He looked innocent.
“What?”
“He's two months old.”
“Corrected age is younger,” Matteo said solemnly.
“Then why did you buy him an elephant the size of a golden retriever?”
Matteo looked at the toy.
“It seemed smaller in the store.”
Vivian laughed.
A real laugh.
The first one she'd shared with him in months.
Matteo stared at her.
Then smiled.
For a moment, the past loosened its grip.
After Elias fell asleep, Matteo stood near the door.
“Vivian.”
She looked up.
“Yes?”
“I've started therapy.”
She blinked.
“What?”
“Individual counseling.”
Vivian stared.
Matteo looked uncomfortable.
“I should have done it years ago.”
She swallowed.
“Why now?”
“Because I don't want to teach Elias the things my father taught me.”
Vivian's eyes filled.
He continued.
“I don't expect this to change anything between us.”
She nodded.
“Good.”
Matteo smiled sadly.
“But I wanted you to know.”
Vivian looked at him.
“I'm glad.”
He nodded.
Then he left.
Vivian stood at the window, watching his car disappear.
For the first time, she didn't feel relief when he drove away.
She felt something more complicated.
May you like
Hope.
And fear of hoping.
