Chapter 15 - What Happened to Eleanor
People expected me to feel victorious when the legal consequences finally became real.
I didn’t.
There is nothing victorious about watching your mother answer for hurting your wife.
Necessary?
Yes.
Satisfying?
Sometimes.
Triumphant?
No.
Eleanor faced consequences based on the evidence gathered against her. Some allegations were resolved through negotiated legal proceedings; others remained part of civil disputes.
The forged property transfer was undone.
The attempted guardianship went nowhere.
Our finances were protected.
Sophia received legal recognition that what happened to her had not been a misunderstanding.
That mattered most.
Eleanor was ordered to stay away.
She complied.
Mostly.
Birthday cards arrived.
We returned them unopened.
Christmas came.
Another card.
Returned.
Mother’s Day passed.
I did not call.
The old Lucas would have felt guilty.
The new Lucas understood something.
May you like
Guilt does not automatically mean you are doing something wrong.
Sometimes guilt is merely the pain of breaking an old pattern.
