Page 34 of Road to Redemption

“It’s not,” I admitted, “But saying you’re to blame simplifies things too much. She was always going to get hurt with Isaac in the picture. You made the best choices you could to protect her, though. You couldn’t save her from everything, but she didn’t need you to. She’s strong, and you did your best. You’re here now. I think that’s enough for her.”

The advice felt faltering as it left my lips — who was I to give Vivienne parenting advice, especially when it came to Dom? That angry fuck could hardly look at me, let alone talk to me about her feelings.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m out of line.

But I knew somewhere in my bones that if she were being honest, Dom would have said the same thing. And one look at Viv told me that those were exactly the words she needed to hear.

With a quiet nod, Viv stood from the table, heading to the pot to refill her coffee. “Enough family counseling — my therapist can deal with that. I want to hear more about you, Kiera. How are you doing? Are you still drawing much?”

I shifted in my seat to face her, surprised by the sudden change of topic. “I’m shocked you still remember that.”

“Of course I do, our fridge was covered in your drawings. You were pretty good! And I thought I saw you working on something in the garden the other day?”

“Oh, it’s just sketches.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “It’s been a good way to keep my hands busy given how much of our lives nowadays are just sitting around and waiting for orders.”

“Well I’d love to see it sometime. Hell, I’ll sit for you if you ever need live model practice. And if you end up here for a little while longer, maybe I can dig up some old art supplies from one of these closets somewhere.”

“Oh no,” I started to apologize, “I wouldn’t want to⁠—”

But Viv cut me off with a raised brow. I swallowed the apology and nodded my head. “That’s very generous. I’d really appreciate it. Thank you.”

Pleased with the redirect, Viv took a sip of her refreshed coffee. “You’re a good kid, Kiera. Brennan would be so proud of the young woman you’ve grown into. I hope you know that.”

I did. Or I thought I did. In the light of everything we’d learned, it was hard to sort through what was real anymore. But where I felt doubtful, Viv was a pillar of certainty. She was the only ‘adult’ in my life who could remember Brennan clearly, who I trusted to tell me the truth without projecting her own motives onto him.

And as our layover in Washington drew closer to its end, I knew that she was the only person I could ask.

“Vivienne… if he loved me so much, then why did he do it? You said he knew that confronting Isaac was a death sentence. Why did he do it knowing he’d leave me behind?”

The question felt childish falling from my lips, and so did the tears welling in my eyes. But Viv turned to face me with all the compassion in the world, crossing the kitchen to rest her hands on my shoulders.

“Kiera, you need to know that it wasn’t an easy choice for him. The decision tore him apart for a long time. Once he knew that he was leaving you, he was inconsolable. You were everything to him. Absolutely everything.

“But you also have to understand how sick Isaac’s betrayal made him. Grappling with his best friend’s abuse of power was hard enough, but knowing that it was his own technology that made the abuse possible? That every day, thousands of women and girls were getting sucked into Isaac’s depraved schemes?

“Every time he thought about Isaac’s victims, all he could picture was you, and it destroyed him. He felt a responsibility to end their suffering. To create a world that was safer for you and every little girl like you to grow up in. And failing that, to set you up to be as safe as possible from Isaac’s abuse.”

“That worked out so well,” I scoffed, my mind flashing with blurs of Keith in my childhood bedroom.

Does Viv know? Would the Oracle have filled her in?

They must have told her something — her own daughter killed the man with her bare hands, and the house was full of Oracle spies.

Viv sighed as she shook her head. “He thought that Maura would protect you. He knew better than to leave the shares with her — Maura trusted Isaac with the business, and that would leave you too vulnerable. But he didn’t have any reason to think she would fail you as a mother. She wasn’t always the most selfless parent, but none of us had any reason to believe she’d become the parasite she is now. If he’d had any idea…”

Viv shuddered. “I’m just glad that you had Dom. And that she had you.”

I blinked back my surprise. Did I have Dom? She felt intractable to me. But then again, what else could it mean that she had killed for me, that she seemed ready to do it again? Why keep climbing into my bed, keep caressing my face, keep pretending to hate me if there was no feeling there?

She was a dagger, as quick to cut as she was to defend. And I… I wasn’t sure what to make of the weapon resting in my bedroom.

“Thank you,” Viv squeezed my forearm. “For taking care of her.”

At that, a blush rose to my cheeks. "I don't know if I can take credit for all of that. Dom doesn't let anyone help her."

But Viv just smiled as she returned to her seat. “That only makes it more impressive that she lets you this close. Even if you don’t see it yet.”

I bit my lip, preparing to give some sort of rebuttal against the hope blooming in my chest. She was wrong. Dom couldn’t stand me. This would all end by the time our mission finished, and she would move on without me.