Chapter 9 - A VISIT TO MARION
Two years after the fire.
The high concrete walls of the Marion Federal Penitentiary loomed against the gray winter sky.
I sat in the visiting room behind a thick pane of bulletproof glass, waiting quietly.
A heavy iron door opened on the opposite side of the partition. A guard escorted Daniel Mercer into the room.
He looked unrecognizable. His dark hair was shaved to the skin, showing streaks of gray. He was thin, his face lined with deep stress, wearing a faded orange jumpsuit with the letters US PENITENTIARY stamped across his chest.
He sat down heavily on the metal stool, picking up the black telephone receiver attached to the wall.
I picked up my receiver and held it to my ear.
"Why are you here, Clara?" Daniel asked, his voice flat, broken, and hollow through the speaker. "Came to gloat?"
"No, Daniel," I said calmly, looking at him without a single trace of anger left in my heart. "I came to deliver a message."
He scoffed softly, looking down at his manicured nails—now rough and dirty from prison labor. "What message? Vanessa got sixteen years. Lieutenant Miller got twelve. You won. You took my freedom, my money, my reputation, everything."
"You gave those things away, Daniel," I corrected him gently. "You traded your entire life for three million dollars that you never even got to touch."
Daniel stayed quiet for a long moment, staring at the scarred wooden counter.
"I have a court order today," I continued, pulling a document from my coat pocket and setting it against the glass. "The court has finalized the complete dissolution of our marriage. The Mercer name has been removed from all my records. I am Clara Vance once again."
Daniel looked at the paper, then slowly lifted his eyes to mine. "Do you... do you ever think about that day? Before the fire?"
"I think about the woman I was before that day," I replied. "She was naive. She trusted a man who was wearing a mask. But I don't mourn her anymore. She died in that corridor, and a stronger woman took her place."
Daniel closed his eyes, a single tear slipping down his cheek. "I destroyed my life for nothing."
"You did," I said softly. "Goodbye, Daniel."
I set the receiver back onto its hook, stood up, and walked toward the exit doors.
May you like
Behind the glass, Daniel picked up his chains, escorted by two guards back into the dark corridors of the prison, where he would spend the rest of his natural life.
I stepped out through the heavy iron gates of the penitentiary into the crisp winter morning.
