Chapter 13
251words
Under my leadership, the Sullivan empire grew a hundredfold beyond my father's achievements.
Howard Hayes became my strongest ally and most intimate companion.
When he proposed, I said yes.
We planned our wedding for early spring, when the world awakens.
The day before our wedding, an anonymous package arrived.
Inside: a journal and a recording.
Frederick's.
Somehow, despite his paralysis, he'd dictated these to a caregiver.
The journal detailed his troubled childhood, his warped mind, and his sick obsession with me from the beginning.
He wrote about college, when he was beaten for being illegitimate, and how I anonymously called police and left him bandages.
That small kindness was the only light in his darkness.
He became fixated, determined to capture and possess that light forever.
The recording contained his weak, broken voice:
"Sophie… I'm sorry…"
"If there's… another life… could I… love you properly… just once…"
Without expression, I tossed both journal and recorder into the fireplace.
Flames consumed those pathetic remnants of the past.
Too late, Frederick. Far too late.
In this world, "what ifs" don't exist.
What you did to me and my father can never be forgiven.
My wedding to Howard proceeded as planned.
The day dawned perfect, my twins serving as flower attendants, carefully carrying my train.
I gazed at the man waiting for me, his eyes warm with tears, seeing only me.
I had finally escaped that nightmare and stepped into a brilliant new life—one truly my own.
