Chapter 14 - The Woman Who Refused to Break
I woke to the sound of someone calling my name.
"Grant."
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Urgent.
"Grant, stay with me."
I opened my eyes.
Corinne knelt beside me.
Her hands were pressed against my shoulder.
Blood soaked my shirt.
"You're okay," she whispered.
I tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
She leaned closer.
"Don't move."
Gunfire echoed somewhere beyond the warehouse doors.
Men shouted.
Boots pounded across concrete.
Then Agent Sloan appeared.
"Federal agents! Hands where I can see them!"
Corinne raised one hand.
"He's been shot!"
Sloan hurried toward us.
"Medical team! Now!"
I looked at Corinne.
She was crying.
I had seen her cry before.
At funerals.
During arguments.
The night I missed our anniversary.
But this was different.
She wasn't crying because she wanted me back.
She was crying because she didn't want another person to die.
Even me.
I reached for her hand.
"Corinne."
She looked down.
"Don't talk."
"I'm sorry."
Her expression changed.
For a moment, she looked almost angry.
"Grant, this is not the time."
I tried to smile.
"You're right."
She pressed harder against the wound.
"Just stay awake."
I stared at her.
"Is Owen safe?"
"Yes."
Relief washed through me.
"Good."
"Grant."
"Good."
Then everything went dark.
When I woke again, I was in a hospital.
A monitor beeped beside the bed.
My shoulder was bandaged.
An IV line ran into my arm.
Sunlight filtered through the blinds.
I turned my head.
Agent Sloan sat near the window.
"You're awake."
I swallowed.
"Corinne?"
"Safe."
"My father?"
Sloan hesitated.
"Alive."
I closed my eyes.
"Did you arrest him?"
"Yes."
"Richard?"
"Also in custody."
I stared.
"How?"
"He attempted to leave the country. Federal agents intercepted him."
I exhaled.
"Caleb Rourke?"
"Arrested."
"Leonard Pike?"
Sloan's expression darkened.
"His remains were positively identified."
I looked away.
Another person had died because of the greed surrounding my family.
Sloan continued.
"We recovered additional records from the warehouse."
"What kind?"
"Communications between your father and Richard. Evidence of the fraud. Evidence related to Pike's death."
I nodded.
"And my mother?"
She hesitated.
"We're reopening the investigation into her death."
My throat tightened.
"Do you think my father killed her?"
"We have reason to investigate that possibility."
I stared at the ceiling.
For years, I had mourned my mother without understanding her.
Now I might finally learn why she died.
Sloan stood.
"There's someone who wants to see you."
My heart hammered.
"Corinne?"
She nodded.
"Only if you're ready."
I almost laughed.
I had spent years making Corinne wait for me.
Now I was terrified of making her wait another second.
"Please."
Sloan opened the door.
Corinne stepped inside.
She wore jeans and a pale blue sweater.
Her hair was tied back.
There was a small bandage near her temple.
She looked exhausted.
And beautiful.
Not because she was perfectly dressed.
Not because she was smiling.
But because she was alive.
She stood near the door.
"Hi."
My throat tightened.
"Hi."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then she walked toward the bed.
"How's your shoulder?"
"Apparently, I'm not very good at getting shot."
She gave a small, involuntary smile.
It disappeared quickly.
"Don't joke about that."
"Sorry."
She sat in the chair beside me.
I looked at her hands.
No wedding ring.
The sight hurt.
But I understood.
"How's Owen?"
"He's wonderful."
I swallowed.
"Can I see him?"
She hesitated.
"Eventually."
I nodded.
"Okay."
Silence settled between us.
Then I said, "I read your letter."
She looked down.
"I assumed you would."
"I should have listened to you."
"Yes."
"I should have believed you."
"Yes."
"I should have been there when Owen was born."
Her eyes filled.
"Yes."
I closed my eyes.
"I'm sorry."
She said nothing.
I forced myself to continue.
"I know that doesn't fix anything."
"No."
"I know I don't deserve another chance."
She looked at me.
"Grant, I didn't come here to talk about our marriage."
I nodded.
"Then why?"
"Because I wanted you to know something."
I waited.
"When your father threatened me, I thought I was going to die."
My chest tightened.
She continued.
"I thought about Owen."
Tears filled her eyes.
"I thought about how he might grow up without knowing me."
I reached for her hand.
She didn't take it.
"I thought about all the things I wanted to teach him."
Her voice broke.
"How to ride a bicycle. How to be kind. How to know when someone loves him."
I looked down.
"And I realized something."
"What?"
"I don't want him to grow up believing love means accepting pain."
The words struck me harder than the bullet.
Corinne wiped her eyes.
"I spent years teaching myself to endure things I should never have accepted."
I couldn't speak.
"I told myself marriage meant sacrifice."
She looked directly at me.
"But I was the only one sacrificing."
I nodded.
"You're right."
She took a shaky breath.
"I don't hate you, Grant."
That almost broke me.
"I wish you did."
She frowned.
"Why?"
"Because it would make what I did easier to understand."
She shook her head.
"No."
Her voice was firm.
"You don't get to make my feelings part of your punishment."
I stared at her.
She continued.
"You made choices. You hurt me. You betrayed our family."
Tears slipped down my face.
"And now you have to live with that."
I nodded.
"I know."
She stood.
"I hope you become a better man."
I looked up.
"For you?"
She shook her head.
"For Owen."
I swallowed.
"And for yourself."
She walked toward the door.
"Corinne."
She stopped.
"Thank you for coming."
She looked back.
For a moment, I saw the woman I had married.
The woman who once believed in me.
Then she said, "Goodbye, Grant."
And walked out.
I watched the door close.
For the first time, I didn't chase her.
I didn't promise flowers.
I didn't offer jewelry.
I didn't demand forgiveness.
May you like
I simply let her leave.
Because loving her, if I had finally learned anything about love, meant respecting the freedom I had denied her for years.
