Chapter 26 - Ethan’s SentenceEthan pleaded guilty.
His cooperation dismantled the remaining identity cells in three countries.
Prosecutors recommended leniency.
Clara submitted no letter for or against him.
That surprised everyone.
Ethan understood.
He received eight years.
Not life.
Not freedom.
Consequences.
Clara visited once before his transfer.
He looked different without Julian’s tailored suits.
Smaller somehow.
More human.
“I heard you met him.”
“Yes.”
“How was it?”
“Strange.”
Ethan smiled.
“He hates coffee.”
“So do you.”
“I learned that from him.”
Clara stared.
Ethan laughed.
“Bad joke.”
“Very.”
Silence.
Then Ethan said:
“I keep wanting to apologize in a way that makes you forgive me.”
“That would still be about you.”
“I know.”
Progress.
Small.
Real.
He looked at his hands.
“Sienna wrote to me.”
Clara’s face changed.
“What did she say?”
“That she forgives herself.”
Not him.
Herself.
For letting fear and envy pull her into the affair.
Clara nodded.
“Good.”
“Do you?”
“Forgive her?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Ethan looked surprised.
Clara continued.
“But I don’t need to hate her.”
“That sounds healthier.”
“Prison made you philosophical.”
“Prison made me bored.”
She almost smiled.
Before leaving, Ethan handed her a property form.
The wedding ring.
Again.
Clara stared.
“Why does this object keep finding me?”
“It was seized with my belongings.”
“What do you want me to do with it?”
“Whatever you want.”
For the first time, he truly meant it.
Clara took the ring.
Two weeks later, she sold it.
The money funded legal identity restoration for twenty-three Greenhaven survivors.
May you like
She never told Ethan.
It did not belong to their marriage anymore.
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