Chapter 38
Chapter 38: The Open Road
Two days later, Anna’s bags were packed into the back of my car. We were driving her to her new apartment in Brooklyn, where she was set to start her career as a senior designer for a major global brand.
As we hit the open highway, the Virginia state line disappearing in our rearview mirror, the sky ahead of us turned a brilliant, golden amber. The radio was playing a soft, melodic tune, and Anna was already scrolling through interior design ideas for her new space.
I looked at my hands on the steering wheel. They were steady. The tension that had lived in my shoulders since the day Sabrina marched into that admissions office was completely gone.
My parents had thought that because they raised me, they owned me. Sabrina had thought that because she was the favorite, she was entitled to my daughter’s life. They had operated on a system of fear, guilt, and generational theft. But they had forgotten one simple truth: a mother’s love for her child doesn't follow the rules of a toxic family contract. It breaks the contract entirely.
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"What are you thinking about, Mom?" Anna asked, turning her head to look at me, the sunlight catching the gold tones in her hair.
"Nothing, sweetie," I smiled, stepping on the gas, accelerating into the wide, beautiful horizon ahead of us. "Just that the weather is perfect. And the road is completely clear."
