Chapter 11 - Margaret Had Done Something Similar to Daniel as a Child
The revelation came from Daniel’s older aunt.
Not as an excuse.
As context.
Margaret had raised Daniel under the same philosophy.
Food after chores.
Dessert only after perfect behavior.
Meals sometimes delayed after “disrespect.”
Daniel grew up believing hunger could be instructional.
His aunt remembered sneaking him sandwiches.
“When he was eight, he used to hide crackers in his schoolbag.”
Claire felt sick hearing that.
Daniel had not invented the system.
He had normalized it.
Then allowed it to move into another generation.
When confronted with the childhood memory, Daniel cried for the first time.
Claire felt sympathy.
But sympathy did not change custody boundaries.
A wound can explain why someone failed.
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It does not make the child they failed responsible for healing them.
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