UNCENSORED UPDATE: WHEN MY HUSBAND MADE ME HIS VICTIM, I MADE HIM MY LEGACY

The hospital room was white and sterile and smelled like antiseptic.

I lay on my stomach, bandages wrapped around my back, staring at the wall while the painkillers slowly numbed everything.

Dad sat in a chair beside me.

"I've been waiting," he said. "Almost four years. I've been waiting for you to call."

"I know."

"I told you. The moment anything went wrong. The moment he showed you who he was."

"I thought I could fix it."

"You can't fix people, Sarah. You can only expose them."

I was quiet for a long time.

"He was different in the beginning."

"Men like him are always different in the beginning. They have to be. How else would they trap you?"

"Trap?"

Dad leaned forward.

"Men like Nathan don't love. They hunt. They find women who are strong, intelligent, capable—and they break them. They make them small so they can feel big. And when they're done, they discard them."

"Celeste is probably stronger than me. She never would have let him hurt her."

"She's not stronger than you. She's just more willing to accept the abuse. She'll do anything to get what she wants. That's not strength. That's desperation."

I thought about that.

Celeste had laughed while I was whipped. She had corrected his count, demanded more. She had wanted to see me broken.

But now she was in a holding cell, waiting to be charged with conspiracy and fraud.

"Dad," I said. "What's going to happen to them?"

He was quiet for a moment.

"Nathan's going to prison. For a long time. He'll be tried for assault, attempted murder, fraud, money laundering, and about a dozen other things."

"And Celeste?"

"She's going to prison too. She orchestrated most of the crimes. And she's going to take the fall for everything Nathan didn't do himself."

"He'll try to blame everything on her."

"He can try. But we have recordings. We have bank statements. We have everything. And because I'm the father of the victim, I made sure every journalist in the country has access."

I winced.

"Journalists?"

"Tomorrow morning, the story breaks. Nathan Ashford, CEO and philanthropist, is revealed as an abuser, a fraud, and a criminal. His company will collapse. His reputation will be destroyed. And everyone who ever believed his lies will see the truth."

I didn't know how to feel about that.

Part of me was glad.

Part of me was sad.

"I didn't want it to end like this," I said.

"I know. But it's not your fault. You didn't make him do any of this. He did it himself. You just made sure he couldn't get away with it."

I closed my eyes.

"Thank you, Dad."

"For what?"

"For coming."

"For staying."

"For never believing the lies."

Dad reached over and took my hand.