*I don’t know how to fix what I broke. But I want to try without making Elise responsible for forgiving me.*
*Ryan*
I read the letter twice.
The garage was silent except for rain striking the roof.
“Did he send this?” Bell asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because he was afraid.”
Tessa gave a small, bitter laugh.
“He was afraid of everything.”
I looked at her.
“And you thought controlling the situation would help?”
“We thought if he had custody, he would finally stop letting you decide everything.”
“Custody wasn’t yours to arrange.”
“I know that now.”
The admission sounded genuine.
Not enough to undo what had happened, but enough to mark a beginning.
Bell examined the school brochure.
It was for a residential academic program two states away. A handwritten note from Ryan was clipped to the front.
**Information only. Do not pursue unless Nia agrees.**
The date was from eight months earlier.
The same week Ryan’s calls to me had become inconsistent.
The same week Tessa had started sending messages asking whether I planned to return to the country.
They had found a private conversation and interpreted it as evidence.
Then they had built their own answer.
Bell placed the brochure back in the box.
“Everything here will be collected as evidence,” she said. “The letters, the petition materials, the device, and the school documents.”
Tessa nodded.
Morgan stood near the garage door, staring at the floor.
“I didn’t mean for Elise to get hurt,” she said.
No one answered.
“I wanted her to tell the truth.”
“She did,” I said.
Morgan looked up.
“She told the truth about being afraid. She told the truth about what you asked her to do. She told the truth about what happened in that house.”
Morgan closed her eyes.
“I thought if we could prove you were leaving, Ryan would become stronger.”
“Stronger for whom?”
She did not answer.
