Chapter 14: The Quiet
A week after the final court ruling, Finnley moved back into his childhood home.
The house felt different now. Reagan and Carter had taken most of their things when they left. The expensive furniture was gone. The artificial smell of air freshener had faded.
Finnley spent the first few days alone, walking through the rooms and remembering how the house used to be.
He kept his father’s old leather armchair in the living room. He also put his mother’s portrait back above the fireplace.
One evening, he sat in the armchair with his father’s letter in his hands.
He read it slowly, the same way he had done many times before.
When he finished, he folded it carefully and placed it on the table beside him.
For the first time since he got out of prison, Finnley allowed himself to cry.
He cried for his father. He cried for the three years he had lost. He cried for the boy who had once believed that coming home would fix everything.
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When the tears finally stopped, he felt lighter.
He still had a long way to go, but he was no longer carrying everything alone.
