Chapter 11 - CLAIRE’S LETTEREight months later, Claire wrote Sophie a letter.
Dr. Chen reviewed it first.
Then I did.
It was imperfect.
But honest.
I wanted you to call me Mommy because I thought the word would prove you loved me.
Then:
When you said your mother was Emily, I treated your love for her as something being taken from me. That was wrong.
No excuses.
Then:
I used your wheelchair and things you loved to make you obey me. Adults are never allowed to do that.
I had to stop reading.
At the end:
You do not have to forgive me. You do not have to call me anything.
We asked Sophie if she wanted the letter.
She said no.
Not then.
We put it in a sealed box.
Six months later, she asked for it.
She read part.
Then stopped.
“Can I finish when I’m older?”
“Yes.”
That was control returned.
May you like
Her timeline.
Her choice.
