Her 11-year-old apologized for being hungry. That was the second Charlotte stopped being nice.
/
Chapter 17 / 20
Chapter 17 - THE ROOM THEY STOLECharlotte renovated her office.
Not for Hailey.
Not for resale value.
Not for anyone else's approval.
For herself.
She removed every cabinet Gertrude had used.
Repainted the walls.
Bought a new desk.
Then Skylar brought her a school drawing.
Their house stood beneath a blue sky.
Two figures stood outside.
Charlotte and Skylar.
Above the roof, Skylar had written:
HOME IS WHERE NOBODY HAS TO BE SCARED.
Charlotte cried.
She framed it.
And hung it on the wall.
The room where someone had once practiced her signature now displayed the truth of her life.
The irony wasn't lost on her.
May you like
They had used that room to manufacture a false identity.
Charlotte had turned it into the place where her real identity finally returned.
