Chapter 18 - Shadows of the PastEven with our new life firmly established, the ghosts of the past occasionally tried to whisper in the dark.
In November, I received a certified letter from the federal correctional institution in West Virginia where Karen was serving her multi-decade sentence.
I sat at my kitchen desk after the kids were asleep, staring at the stark white envelope bearing the prison’s official return address.
For a long time, I debated whether to throw it straight into the wood-burning fireplace without opening it. But my training as an investigator won out. Information is power.
I slit the top open with a letter opener and pulled out a single sheet of rough institutional paper.
David, I know you hate me. I know the world thinks I’m a monster. But I want you to know that what I did wasn't personal... it was business. You'll never truly understand the pressures of modern society until you've tasted absolute power. If you ever decide to let the kids visit their stepmother, let me know. — Karen.
A cold, humorless laugh escaped my lips.
She still didn't get it. She still believed her actions were justified by ambition and pressure.
May you like
I folded the letter, walked over to the fireplace, and dropped it directly onto the blazing logs, watching the ink curl, blacken, and turn to weightless ash within seconds.
There was no room for her in our world anymore. She was nothing more than a bad memory burned away by time.
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