I had to learn that being cleared did not mean I had to keep pleading my case.
My name was mine again.
That had to be enough.
Near the end of the year, Madison called me.
Not texted.
Called.
I almost let it go to voicemail.
Then I answered.
“Rachel,” she said. “Do you have a minute?”
I looked at the report open on my desk.
“Yes.”
There was a pause.
“I found something.”
My body went still before my mind did.
“What?”
“Letters,” she said. “Old ones. From Jason. Drafts, actually. Things he wrote but never sent. Some about you.”
I closed my eyes.
“Madison, if this is about the review, it’s done.”
“I know,” she said quickly. “That’s not why I’m calling.”
“Then why?”
Her voice trembled.
“Because I realized something. He didn’t just lie after it happened. He was preparing me before it happened. Little comments. Little stories. Making you sound unstable before I had a reason to question you.”
