𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿

27.. truth, at last

The sun had barely risen.

The safe house was still wrapped in quiet shadow, but Vivian couldn't wait anymore. Her heart felt swollen, aching, full of everything she had said, everything she'd thought she knew. She found Vicky in the main room, sitting at the old table with a cup of lukewarm tea clutched in her hands.

She looked so much older now. Not in age — but in the weight she carried.

Vivian stood in the doorway for a moment, just... watching her.

Then she stepped forward.

"I need to tell you something."

Vicky looked up, green eyes narrowing slightly. "About last night?"

Vivian flinched. "You know?"

"I heard Luke and Hugo talking." Vicky set the cup down. "You went after Thèrèse."

Vivian exhaled. "Yes. And I was... wrong."

Vicky froze.

"She wasn't there when it happened," Vivian went on. "When Carter... when he shot you. She was underground with Teresa. She didn't know what he'd done. Not until later."

Vicky stared down at the table. Her jaw clenched, her hands curling around the cup again.

"I accused her of watching," Vivian said softly. "Of doing nothing. I said things that" her voice broke, "things I can't take back."

Silence.

Vicky finally whispered, "I thought she knew, too."

"So did I."

"But she didn't."

"No," Vivian said. "And she's been carrying that guilt anyway. For a year. Quietly. Alone."

Vicky's throat tightened. "I wanted to hate her. For not stopping it. For not saving me. But... she didn't even know."

"I wanted someone to blame," Vivian admitted. "Because otherwise, it meant he won. Carter. It meant he took everything from us and no one was there to stop him."

Vicky blinked quickly, her vision blurring. "He wanted me dead. Just to punish you."

"I know."

"Do you think I ever stop thinking about that?" Her voice cracked. "That he looked at me - a girl he'd known as a child - and decided I was disposable?"

Vivian stepped closer, kneeling in front of her. "You are not disposable. You never were. You're my light, Vicky. My reason. And if I could bring down Carter Jewels myself, I would."

Vicky reached for her mother's hand, gripping it tight. "He tried to destroy you by killing me. But I'm still here. So are you. So are all of us."

Vivian let out a trembling breath. "She still loves you. Thèrèse."

"I know," Vicky whispered. "I love her too. I just... I didn't know what to do with all the pieces. The grief. The guilt. The silence."

Vivian brushed her daughter's hair back, her eyes full of emotion. "Then we figure it out together."

Vicky nodded, holding her mother's gaze.

"We survived him," she said. "That's the part that matters now."

The fire had almost gone out, casting only a faint orange glow across the sleeping quarters.

Matt sat on a wooden step outside the house, his jacket pulled tight around him, watching the stars flicker behind a veil of early morning mist.