Chapter 21 - DELPHINE WITHOUT HER BONUS Delphine requested mediation.
I agreed once.
Neutral office.
Counsel nearby.
No Willa.
Delphine looked different without the family-company armor.
She sat across from me.
“I took money to provoke you.”
“Yes.”
“I said things to Willa because I knew you'd react.”
“Yes.”
“I slapped her because I was angry.”
“Yes.”
“I took the payment afterward.”
“Yes.”
“I lied.”
“Yes.”
She stared at me.
“You could vary.”
“No.”
A faint smile crossed her face.
Then disappeared.
“Did you hate Willa?”
“No.”
“Did you resent her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because after Lila died, everyone acted like you were the only person who had suffered.”
I stared at her.
“You lost your wife.”
“I know.”
“Willa lost her mother.”
“I know.”
“What did you lose?”
Delphine looked down.
“Mom.”
That answer explained more than she intended.
Mother had made me her project.
Delphine had become her instrument.
Then the money arrived.
The role.
The approval.
And resentment became professional.
But Delphine didn't ask for forgiveness.
She said:
“I don't want a relationship with Willa unless she wants one.”
“Good.”
“And with you?”
“I don't know.”
She nodded.
“I'll stop asking.”
That mattered.
She also offered to cover the remaining therapy expenses.
I accepted through counsel.
Not forgiveness.
Restitution.
Before leaving, she handed over the original notebook.
I didn't take it home.
Evidence belonged in evidence storage.
Then she told me Mother had once stopped her from going further.
At one event, Delphine had suggested locking Willa upstairs.
Mother had said no.
That didn't make Mother good.
It showed something more complicated.
They hadn't planned to torture Willa.
They had planned to manipulate her.
And manipulation had escalated into violence.
Facts were easier to live with than mystery.
As I picked Willa up from school that afternoon, she asked:
“Where were you?”
“Talking to Delphine.”
“Did you yell?”
“No.”
“Did she?”
“No.”
“Boring.”
I smiled.
May you like
“Very.”
Boring was becoming our goal.
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