Chapter 6 - The Hospital Reunion
Two days later, the sun shone brightly over Richmond, melting the thick ice from the trees.
I walked into Room 214 of St. Jude Hospital carrying a huge bouquet of fresh yellow roses and a small velvet box.
Claire was sitting up in bed, color restored to her cheeks, wearing a cozy sweater I had brought from her closet. She was holding Lily, who was giggling happily as she chewed on a wooden rattle.
When Claire saw me, her face lit up with a smile that wiped away eighteen months of war and pain.
"Hey, soldier," she whispered.
"Hey, beautiful," I said, walking over and placing the flowers on the bedside table. I sat on the edge of the bed and gently kissed her lips, then kissed Lily’s soft forehead.
"How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Dr. Mercer said we can be discharged this afternoon," Claire said. She looked down at her hands, her smile fading slightly. "Daniel... where are we going to go? Our apartment lease expired while you were deployed... and your parents took the house..."
I reached into my pocket, pulled out a set of brass keys on a silver ring, and placed them in her hand.
"We aren't going to an apartment, Claire," I said softly. "We're going home. To the estate."
Claire looked at the keys in confusion. "The estate? But your parents—"
"My parents are currently sitting in federal holding cells awaiting trial," I explained gently. "They no longer own the house. They no longer own the company. Every fraudulent transfer they made has been reversed by the courts. The estate belongs to you and Lily now."
Claire gasped, her eyes filling with tears. "Daniel... no... I don't want their house. It has too many terrible memories..."
"Then we'll sell it," I smiled, reaching into my jacket and pulling out the second document—the deed to her family’s farm in Charlottesville. "Because we own this now, too."
Claire opened the blue folder. As her eyes registered her family's name on the deed to the farm, she let out a choked sob, covering her mouth with her hand.
"My... my dad's farm?" she wept. "How... how did you..."
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"Your father's farm was stolen by Richard three years ago," I told her, wrapping my arms around her and holding her close. "It's back in your family where it belongs. We can rebuild the house, raise Lily on the land, and leave the past behind us."
Claire buried her face in my shoulder, crying tears of relief and joy that washed away months of suffering.
