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She had to read it once more to make sure it was true

Dear Ms Ross,

I aston

He died on Nove left the road and overturned Alcohol was determined a factor in the crash

Mari wiped away tears He was gone He had no power to hurt her anymore

She kept reading, the rest scrawled in see

I know this isn’t procedure, but I wanted to notify you inal case, I have often thought of you and your mother Some cases are like that I can only say that I hope you are well and that perhaps this ston

Sincerely,

Cst Pat Moore

She reentle when questioning her at the hospital and then later when he’d testified at the trial Sos full circle, even through so as simple as a letter She wondered briefly if heran identical letter, feeling the saret

Her first instinct was to tell Luca

Mari looked up, swiping a finger under her lashes Telling Luca was the last thing she should do, though They’d all but said goodbye tonight And he’d dealt with her probleh No, it was time to stand on her oo feet The fact that she could…and be worry free…was a heady thought

Standing, she walked over to where the painting he’d given her hung She ski from her opposite hand She knehat she hadn’t been able to put together the day she’d first seen it She kne not only that it had spoken to her, but what it said

It was life; the life in her that he’d awakened The life she’d fought for every step of the way And it bled on the canvas and she realized that by living, by feeling, she’d also opened herself up to hurt And the shocking, glorious realization that it had been worth it

Tears trickled down her cheeks She had sworn up and down that she’d moved on from the wounds Robert had inflicted on her, but that wasn’t true She’d only covered them up And then she’d met Luca and he’d made her face them, and he’d made her fall in love with him