“The lawyer says we’re making progress.”
“That’s good news.”
“I know. But I keep thinking about all the years I wasted believing her.”
Matthew sat beside her.
“You didn’t waste those years. You survived them.”
She looked at him.
“What if I never become the person I could have been?”
“Then become the person you want to be now.”
Elena was quiet for a long moment.
Then she reached for his hand.
He did not pull her closer or turn the moment into a promise.
He simply held her hand and let her decide when to let go.
For Elena, that quiet respect meant more than any grand declaration could have.
The final confrontation came six months after the storm.
The hearing concerned the disputed assets, the allegedly forged documents, and the legal authority under which Isabel had managed the family business.
Elena arrived in a navy suit, carrying her father’s letter in a folder.
