Chapter 16 - 144 Hours Later
On the third anniversary of Daniel's death, I woke before sunrise.
I drove alone to the memorial garden.
Someone was already there.
Adrian.
He started to leave.
“You can stay.”
We sat on a bench.
For a long time, neither of us spoke.
Then Adrian said:
“Do you know exactly how long I was gone?”
“Yes.”
“I do too.”
“144 hours.”
He nodded.
“I used to count them.”
“So did I.”
“Every hour felt like evidence.”
“For me too.”
He looked toward Daniel's marker.
“I can't change those hours.”
“No.”
“But I stopped letting them decide every hour afterward.”
I looked at him.
That sentence stayed with me.
For years, I had defined Adrian by those six days.
Understandably.
But I had also defined myself by them.
Abandoned wife.
Grieving mother.
Betrayed heiress.
Woman who took back the company.
All true.
None complete.
“What do you want now?” I asked him.
He considered.
“A life I don't have to lie about.”
“That's a good start.”
“And you?”
I smiled.
“I want to stop answering questions about what Adrian Vale did to me.”
He laughed softly.
“Fair.”
“I want people to ask what Claire Whitmore built afterward.”
May you like
His expression became serious.
“I think they already do.”
