Chapter 14 - The Final Visit
When Clara was eight months old, I received a formal letter from Otisville Prison.
Matthias had requested a visitation permit. He wanted to see his daughter.
I drove up alone. I did not bring Clara.
I sat in the secure room, waiting as Matthias was brought out in his prison uniform. He looked weathered, his spirit completely broken by eight months of hard reality behind bars.
“Where is she?” he asked, looking around desperately. “Where is Clara?”
“She’s at home,” I answered calmly.
“I’m her father, Serena,” he choked out. “I have a right to see my daughter.”
“You gave up that right the day you brought a loaded gun and a bomb into the house where she was growing inside me,” I said, looking him dead in the eyes. “I didn't come here to let you play father. I came here to give you this.”
I slid a final document across the table.
“A permanent termination of parental rights. You sign this, or Arthur’s lawyers will ensure your parole hearings in seven years are rejected before you even sit down.”
Matthias stared at the paper. Tears dripped onto the metal table.
“You’re erasing me,” he whispered.
“You erased yourself, Matthias,” I replied softly. “Clara will grow up knowing love, honesty, and kindness. She will never know the man who traded her safety for a diamond choker.”
With shaking hands, Matthias picked up the pen and signed the document.
I took the paper, placed it securely inside my coat, and stood up.
May you like
“Goodbye, Matthias.”
I walked out of the prison gates and never looked back.
