Sophie found him near the vending machines.
Nathan was crying.
“I hated her.”
Sophie didn’t speak.
He wiped his face.
“For years, I hated my own mother.”
“Because he taught you to.”
Nathan nodded.
“He told me she caused everything.”
“He said she drove Emily away.”
“He said she made our house miserable.”
Nathan leaned against the wall.
“I believed him.”
Sophie looked at him.
“You were manipulated.”
Nathan shook his head.
“When I was nine, yes.”
“When I was twelve, maybe.”
“But not when I was thirty.”
Sophie said nothing.
Nathan’s voice cracked.
“I made choices.”
“Yes.”
Sophie did not soften it.
Nathan looked at her.
“I need to fix this.”
“You can’t fix forty years.”
“I know.”
“But you can stop hiding.”
Nathan nodded.
“I will.”
The evidence was turned over to authorities.
Thomas Holloway had died years earlier.
Richard was dead.
Carol Mason was still alive.
