Chapter 17 - Victoria ReturnsOne year after the attack, Eleanor asked to see Victoria.
Richard objected.
“Why?”
“Need.”
“For closure?”
Eleanor nodded.
Victoria agreed under supervised conditions.
They met in a neutral counseling office.
Richard waited outside.
He didn't hear the conversation.
Later, Eleanor told him.
“I apologized.”
“For what?”
“Everything before vase.”
“And Victoria?”
“She apologized everything after.”
Richard smiled faintly.
“That's a lot of everything.”
Eleanor almost laughed.
Then became serious.
“Victoria asked if I forgive.”
“What did you say?”
“No.”
Richard was surprised.
Eleanor continued:
“Not yet.”
“That was honest.”
“Yes.”
“Did she forgive you?”
“No.”
Richard nodded.
“That was honest too.”
The meeting didn't repair anything.
It wasn't supposed to.
It simply ended the war.
Victoria moved to Seattle after the divorce.
Eleanor remained in Beverly Hills.
Richard continued therapy.
Robert's charitable foundation was restructured.
Richard publicly removed his father's name from one program after several former employees came forward describing inappropriate behavior.
Some family friends were outraged.
Richard didn't care.
For the first time, the Coleman family stopped protecting its image at the expense of reality.
Then Eleanor's health worsened.
Not dramatically.
Naturally.
Age.
Neurological decline.
Richard spent more time beside her.
One evening she said:
“Afraid.”
“Of dying?”
She nodded.
Richard held her hand.
“Me too.”
She looked surprised.
“You?”
“Of losing you.”
Eleanor smiled.
Then:
“Don't make me saint.”
Richard frowned.
“When?”
“After.”
He understood.
After she died.
“Tell truth.”
Richard's eyes filled.
“All of it?”
She nodded.
“Good and bad.”
He squeezed her hand.
May you like
“I promise.”
That promise became more important than any inheritance.
