In the months that followed, I sold every Armitage-owned business to pay off debts they had hidden. I kept the mansion long enough to empty it, then donated it to a foundation for survivors of domestic and financial abuse. I built a new center on the lakefront called Maribel House, a sanctuary where women could heal and start over.
Bennett sends letters sometimes. I do not read them. Vivienne was sentenced to seventeen years. Talia joined a reality show and pretends none of it ever happened.
As for me, I bought a cottage in Door County. The lake glitters like glass in summer. Maribel chases dragonflies through the garden while I drink coffee on the porch. When the wind rustles the trees, I swear I hear the voices of my parents, proud and warm.
People ask if I regret loving Bennett. If I regret the pain. I do not. Pain carved me into someone I am proud to be. Betrayal taught me to never kneel again. Revenge was not ruining them. Revenge was surviving them. Revenge was building a life they could never touch. Revenge was peace.
And peace, finally, is mine.
