Chapter 10 - No Secrets
One evening, long after the trials ended, Mara stood alone in her bedroom before a mirror.
She wore a black dress.
No blazer.
The scars were visible under soft lamplight.
For years, she had looked at them like something Victor left behind.
That night, she tried looking differently.
Not beautiful.
Not ugly.
Not brave.
Just hers.
Daniel texted from downstairs.
The car is here. Also I hate fundraising events.
Mara smiled.
She typed back:
You’re my lawyer. Suffer professionally.
Then she looked once more at the mirror.
She touched the scar near her ribs.
The skin was uneven.
Sensitive.
Alive.
Downstairs, Angela was waiting with a black folder for the charity auction papers.
Mara laughed when she saw it.
Angela raised an eyebrow.
“Too much?”
“No,” Mara said. “Perfect.”
The folder was not sealed this time.
No secrets.
No buried evidence.
Just grant applications, survivor housing proposals, and a list of people who would get doors that locked from the inside.
Mara stepped into the evening with her scars uncovered and her head high.
May you like
Not because the world deserved to see them.
Because Victor no longer had any power over whether she hid.
