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EXHAUSTED AFTER AN evening spent with both Ca around her roonized these days would soon be over These walls would belong to someone else And that was okay with her

She turned to her nightstand and removed GG’s letter from the drawer

She hadn’t been ready to read it earlier, but as she stared at the sealed envelope, she took a steadying breath and tore it open

Dear Abigail,

If you’re reading this, then you know our faone to the proper authorities You found the proof, as Lawson did, and made an impossible decision One I couldn’t

I wrote this, not knowing if you would ever read it After finishing this letter, I gave it to my laith the instructions he was to keep it separate froh and revealed the big discovery I o When asked hoould know, I simply told him he would The whole world would

But I owe you an apology I should’ve had enough faith in you to know you’d do the right thing Maybe it wasn’t so much that I doubted you as it was that I respected your decision to make your own choice, whatever it may be Or maybe a part of me felt better at the prospect that I ht in the face of costing our family—myself—so much

I can only ih You are likely open to ridicule and speculation, and I can’t i in our community now is easy Keep in mind, on the hard days, that news travels fast but dies even faster This, too, shall pass

I don’t knohat else to say except I’m sorry For the burden I put on you My only hope is you soer for it I hope and pray you learned sohout this journey, so you’re not left empty handed Remember always that you are who you choose to be Today, tomorrow, forever You make your own choices Only you dictate who you are and the person you become Don’t let others delineate who you are Don’t let this event define you Don’t let your grandfather’s legacy define you

Your grandfather ht he was He , but despite the heinous things he did in his past, he was also the man who loved us for so many years I don’t kno he can be both e of destroying them, but he was I have little advice for how to co to the good memories Those were real Your love for hihed with you and loved you was a different man than the brutal killer

Let the brute pay for his sins and allow the grandfather to stay happy in your memory Because you are special And you are loved No matter how heinous his crimes, his love for you was real

I love you,beyond words You are the candle in a dark roo sofuture ahead of you Forge ahead without fear Trust Have faith Continue to be the light in

a world full of darkness Be happy, and I will be with you always

Love,

Your GG