Chapter 10 - Severing the Poisoned Roots
A week before my father reported to the state correctional facility, Mom and Belle drove out to Lake Oconee.
They parked at the foot of the long driveway, having been informed by Malcolm that stepping past the gate without my explicit permission would trigger an immediate trespass violation. I chose to meet them at the iron gates, accompanied by my German Shepherd rescue dog, Bear, who sat quietly at my side.
Mom looked withered. Stripped of the social circle, country club memberships, and wealth she had prioritized above all else, she seemed entirely adrift. Belle stood beside her, her face free of makeup, wearing plain jeans and an oversized coat.
"Zaden," Mom said through the wrought-iron bars. "Your father leaves on Tuesday. He asked if you would come visit him once. Just for twenty minutes. Just so he can hear you say you don't hate him."
I looked at her, feeling a strange, detached stillness in my chest.
"I don't hate him, Mom," I said quietly. "Hate takes energy, and I refuse to spend any more of my life consumed by what you did to me."
"Then come see him," Belle pleaded, stepping closer. "Zaden, our family is in pieces. I’m living in a studio apartment in Decatur. I’m working two retail jobs just to pay my lawyer’s retainers. Can’t we just... start over? Can’t we have Sunday dinners again when Dad finishes his sentence?"
I looked at my sister, seeing the child I had grown up with buried beneath years of entitlement and calculated cruelty.
"Belle, you watched me freeze," I told her, my voice low and firm. "You let me believe I was incompetent, unstable, and broken. You smiled at me during holidays knowing you were sleeping in comfort because you had stolen my home and my future. You don't want your brother back. You want your guilt removed so you can sleep at night."
"Zaden, we are your family!" Mom cried, clutching the cold iron bars with trembling fingers. "Blood is thicker than water!"
"Blood doesn't give you a license to destroy someone," I replied. "You were my family, and you starved me out. The only true family I have left is Grandma Evelyn, who actually loved me enough to fight for the truth."
I took a step back, whistling softly for Bear.
"Don't come here again," I said. "If you send letters, they will be shredded unread. If you come to this gate, the sheriff will be called. I wish you both whatever peace you can find in the lives you built for yourselves. But my life no longer includes you."
"Zaden!" Mom shouted as I turned around. "Zaden, please!"
May you like
I didn't turn back. I walked up the long gravel driveway, the pine needles crunching beneath my boots, feeling lighter with every step I took away from their voices.
***
