Chapter 10 - THE BREAKING OF THE LAST SEAL
Months turned into a year,
and the name Carter became synonymous with integrity rather than just wealth.
But there was one last seal to break,
one last ghost to lay to rest.
My father.
He had been living in a private facility in upstate New York,
his debts paid,
his addiction managed,
but the shame of what he had done to me remained a wall between us.
I hadn't seen him since the wedding day.
"It’s time,"
Ethan said one morning,
his hand finding mine over breakfast.
"You need to see him."
"I don't know if I can,"
I admitted,
looking at the window where the sun was shining on a new vase.
"I don't know if I can forgive him for selling me."
"Forgiveness isn't for him,"
Ethan reminded me.
"It’s for you."
"So you can stop being the girl beneath the kitchen table."
We drove to the facility that afternoon,
the trees of the Hudson Valley turning gold and red with the arrival of autumn.
The building was quiet,
surrounded by gardens and the sound of the wind.
I found my father sitting on a bench,
looking older and smaller than I remembered.
When he saw me,
his eyes filled with a desperate,
aching sorrow.
"Elara,"
he whispered,
standing up with a tremor in his limbs.
"I didn't think you'd ever come."
I looked at him,
and for the first time,
I didn't feel the weight of the debt.
I didn't feel the anger or the betrayal.
I just felt a profound sense of pity for the man who had lost so much to a game he couldn't win.
"I'm here,
Dad,"
I said,
stepping forward.
He looked at Ethan,
who was standing a few feet behind me,
a silent guardian.
"He took care of you,"
my father said,
it wasn't a question.
"He did more than that,"
I replied.
"He taught me how to take care of myself."
"I’m sorry,"
my father sobbed,
collapsing back onto the bench.
"I was a coward."
"I gave you away to save myself."
I sat down beside him,
taking his hand.
"You gave me to the one person who could see who I really was,"
I said.
"And because of that,"
"I’m finally free."
We stayed for an hour,
talking about the weather,
the garden,
and the sister who was now thriving in college.
As we walked back to the car,
I felt a lightness in my step that I had never known.
The final debt was paid.
The final secret was out.
I looked at Ethan as he opened the car door for me.
"Are you okay?"
he asked.
"I'm better than okay,"
I said.
"I'm whole."
He smiled then,
a real,
brilliant smile that made the sun look dim.
"Then let's go home,
May you like
Mrs. Carter."
"We have a life to live."
