Chapter 18 - What Makes a Monster
Abigail took Hunter to the park after sentencing.
It was the first warm afternoon of spring.
Hunter sat on a bench holding a cup of chocolate ice cream.
His bruises had faded.
The small scar near his hairline remained.
“Are monsters born?” he asked again.
Abigail considered every answer.
She did not want to tell him people were purely evil.
She also did not want to excuse what they had done.
“People make choices,” she said. “Sometimes they make cruel choices because they want control, money, or power.”
“Grandma made bad choices?”
“Yes.”
“Did she love me?”
Abigail’s heart tightened.
“I think she believed she did.”
Hunter frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“No. Love should make people protect you. When someone’s need to control you becomes more important than your safety, that is not healthy love.”
“What about Aunt Rachel?”
“She was afraid.”
“Being afraid made her help Mason?”
“Yes.”
“Was that okay?”
“No.”
Hunter ate another spoonful of ice cream.
“She opened the door at the end.”
“She did.”
“Does that make her good?”
“It means she finally made one brave choice after many harmful ones.”
Hunter thought quietly.
“Can I forgive her but not see her?”
Abigail looked at him.
“You never have to forgive anyone before you’re ready.”
“But can I?”
“Yes. Forgiveness does not mean giving someone another chance to hurt you.”
Hunter nodded slowly.
“Then maybe when I’m bigger.”
They watched children run across the playground.
A boy fell near the slide.
His father immediately rushed forward, checked his knees, and pulled him into a hug.
Hunter watched them.
Then he reached for Abigail’s hand.
“You came when I called.”
“I will always come.”
“Even if I’m far away?”
“Especially then.”
Hunter returned to school the following month.
His teacher allowed him to sit near the door.
He met weekly with a trauma therapist.
At night, Abigail checked the locks twice.
Eventually, Hunter began reminding her that they were safe.
Their roles slowly returned to what they should have been.
Abigail protected him.
Hunter was allowed to be a child.
But the house where everything happened still belonged to Diane.
The bank scheduled it for foreclosure.
May you like
Inside were Hunter’s toys, family photographs, and the locked storage room he never wanted to see again.
👉 Abigail had to decide whether to walk away from the house forever—or return one final time and take back everything Mason had tried to turn into fear.
