Chapter 10 - Dean Tells Margaret The Whole Truth
Dean asked to speak with his mother alone.
He listed every moment he had chosen silence.
The first suspicious charge.
The hotel receipt.
Priscilla’s confession.
Michael’s claim.
The fake letters.
His fear that Margaret’s recovery would suffer.
His fear she would hate Priscilla.
His fear Robert’s memory would collapse.
Margaret listened.
Then asked:
“Which of those decisions belonged to me?”
Dean had no answer.
That was the point.
He had called it protection.
He had actually taken away her ability to respond.
Margaret did not tell him he was as guilty as Caroline.
He was not.
Different actions carried different responsibility.
But love did not erase the consequences of his silence.
Dean apologized without asking for immediate forgiveness.
He also gave investigators full access to his relevant devices.
He began therapy.
May you like
Not because therapy was punishment.
Because he finally understood conflict avoidance was not harmless when other people paid for it.
