I Let Her Ruin Herself Chapter 26
I owed her nothing.
Some people said the project was just a PR stunt. I didn’t respond.
Meanwhile, Taylor filed for post-conviction relief.
She claimed she had never intended for anyone to be killed and once again dredged up what had happened in high school, trying to prove I had been plotting revenge against her for years.
A letter of accusation couldn’t erase the knife, the testimony, or the audio from the garage.
She had no new evidence strong enough to overturn her plea or her conviction.
Her petition was quickly denied.
When my lawyer informed me of the result, I was on the floor helping my daughter build a castle out of blocks.
“Mr. Bell, there’s one more thing,” the lawyer said. “Taylor reported to the county police that you once paid Derek’s friend to push Derek into getting her pregnant.”
The block in my hand stopped in midair.
That had happened.
I didn’t think I was entirely innocent. I had known Derek was afraid of being abandoned, and I had deliberately prodded that fear.
I had never told him to hurt Taylor.
But I had wanted them to destroy each other. There was no point in lying to myself about that.
Taylor only had a suspicion. Even so, I cooperated with the police investigation.
“Comply fully,” I told my legal team. “Don’t contact the platform to suppress any related news, and don’t ask anyone to pressure them for me.”
I answered every question. In the end, the report was closed for lack of evidence, and that line about college could not be used to excuse Taylor’s later crimes.
When I walked out of the county building, Hannah was waiting by the car.
She didn’t ask about the investigation. She just held out her hand.
I took it.
In that moment, I finally understood. The point of a second life was never to beat Taylor.
The point was to stop letting hatred make my decisions for me.