I should’ve felt satisfied. Vindicated. But what I felt was a hollow ache, like watching a building collapse in slow motion. Even when consequences finally arrived, my parents still chose Clara.
“And it gets worse,” Caitlyn added, voice dropping. “Clara’s creditor problems? They weren’t what she said.”
“What do you mean?”
“Turns out the ‘dangerous people’ were basically just an investment firm,” Caitlyn said. “They were threatening to sue. Like, normal legal stuff. No broken kneecaps, no scary hitmen. Clara exaggerated everything to scare your parents. She made it sound like her life was on the line.”
I closed my eyes, anger rising hot and clean.
“So she lied,” I said.
“Yeah,” Caitlyn whispered. “And now your parents are renting a small apartment with Clara and Michael. All four of them in a two-bedroom. From what I hear it’s… bad. Lots of fighting.”
When I hung up, Julian found me staring out the window.
“You okay?” he asked.
I turned toward him, and to my own surprise, I smiled—small, tired, but real.
“I think I am,” I said. “I think… I’m finally done hoping they’ll become different people.”