Chapter 17
Izzy didn't move. "You're sorry."
"I know you don't believe me." Vivienne took off her sunglasses. Her eyes were red, exhausted. "I don't blame you. But I need to say it anyway."
"Say what, exactly? That you're sorry for abusing your sister? For trying to destroy Alex? For bribing my ex to sabotage my relationship?"
"All of it." Vivienne's hands twisted in her lap. "I've spent the last twenty-four hours watching everything fall apart. My reputation, my career, my life. And all I can think about is Lila."
"Convenient timing for remorse."
"It's not remorse. It's clarity." Vivienne looked at the fountain. "When Lila and I were kids, our parents were never home. I raised her. Fed her, helped with homework, scared away bullies. She was my responsibility."
"That doesn't excuse....."
"I'm not making excuses. I'm explaining." Vivienne's voice hardened. "When Lila grew up, she didn't need me anymore. She had Alex, the foundation, and her own life. And I couldn't handle it. I told myself I was protecting her, guiding her, keeping her safe. But really, I was controlling her because I was terrified of being irrelevant."
Izzy felt the wire pressing against her skin, recording every word.
"After she died, I blamed Alex. It was easier than admitting I'd pushed her to the breaking point." Vivienne turned to Izzy. "Then you showed up. This stranger who walked into Alex's life and actually helped him. Made him better. I hated you for it."
"So you tried to destroy me too."
"Yes. Because if you succeeded where I failed, what did that make me?" Vivienne's laugh was bitter. "A jealous, manipulative failure who killed her own sister."
"You didn't kill Lila. A drunk driver did."
"I put her in that car. I spent eighteen months making her doubt everything, her marriage, her sanity, her worth. She was arguing with Alex that night because I'd convinced her he was cheating. She was fragile because I'd systematically destroyed her mental health." Vivienne's voice broke. "The drunk driver pulled the trigger, but I loaded the gun."
Izzy wanted to argue, to say Vivienne was being dramatic. But the raw pain in her voice was real.
"Why are you telling me this?" Izzy asked.
"Because Rachel Chen is right. The truth needs to come out. Not the sanitized version my lawyer wants to sell. The real truth." Vivienne pulled an envelope from her purse. "This is a full confession. Every lie I told, every person I bribed, every manipulation I orchestrated. Everything I did to Lila and to Alex. No legal hedging, no carefully worded denials. Just the truth."
She held it out.
Izzy didn't take it. "What's the catch?"
"No catch. I'm done fighting." Vivienne set the envelope on the bench between them. "I'm leaving New York. Going to my mother's place in Vermont to get help. Real help, not the performative therapy I did after Lila died."
"And the investigation?"
"I'll cooperate fully. If they charge me, I'll plead guilty. I won't drag this out, won't make Alex or the foundation suffer through a trial."
Izzy studied her face, looking for the lie, the angle, the manipulation. She found only exhaustion.
"Why now?" Izzy asked. "You've spent months fighting for control. Why give up?"
"Because I watched your speech at the gala. You said you fell in love with Alex because he showed up for people. That he cared." Vivienne's eyes filled with tears. "Lila used to say the same thing. Before I poisoned her against him. She loved that he was present, that he listened, that he tried. And I took that away from her. I made her think his strengths were weaknesses."
She wiped her eyes roughly. "You got a second chance with Alex. Lila didn't. And that's my fault."
Izzy picked up the envelope. It was heavy, thick with pages.
"If this is another scheme. .." Izzy started.
"It's not. But I understand why you don't trust me." Vivienne stood. "Tell Alex I'm sorry. Tell him Lila loved him, even at the end. I made her doubt it, but she did. She told me the night before she died that she wanted to fix things, wanted to try again. I talked her out of it."
The confession hit Izzy like a physical blow. "Why would you do that?"
"Because if their marriage survived, I lost my leverage. If Lila reconciled with Alex, she wouldn't need me anymore." Vivienne's voice was hollow. "So I convinced her he'd never change. That she deserved better. That leaving him was the strong choice. Twenty-four hours later, she was dead."
Izzy couldn't breathe. Couldn't process what she was hearing.
"I need you to tell him that," Vivienne continued. "I can't face him myself. But he deserves to know that Lila wanted to fight for their marriage. That her last words to me were, 'I think I still love him.'"
She started walking away.
"Vivienne," Izzy called.
She stopped.
"This doesn't fix anything," Izzy said. "The confession, the apology, none of it brings Lila back."
"I know."
"And Alex may never forgive you."
"I don't expect him to. I don't forgive myself." Vivienne looked back at her. "But maybe this way, he can stop blaming himself. He can know that Lila loved him. That's more than I deserve to give him, but it's all I have left."
She disappeared into the gardens.
Julian emerged from behind a tree, phone in hand. "Sophie got all of it. The confession, everything."
Izzy stared at the envelope in her hands. "She meant it. She actually meant it."
"Doesn't change what she did."
"No. But it explains why." Izzy opened the envelope. Pages and pages of handwritten confession. Dates, names, amounts. Every manipulation is laid out in detail. "Alex needs to see this."
They found Alex at the foundation, reviewing grant applications with the same intensity he'd brought to surviving the last two months.
He looked up when they entered. "How'd it go?"
Izzy handed him the envelope. "Read this first."
It took him twenty minutes. Izzy watched emotions cross his face—anger, pain, disbelief, grief. When he reached the part about Lila wanting to reconcile, his hands shook.
"She wanted to try again," he whispered.
"Vivienne talked her out of it," Julian said quietly. "The night before she died."
Alex set down the pages. "I spent two years thinking she hated me. That she died believing I'd destroyed our marriage."
"She loved you," Izzy said. "Even when Vivienne was poisoning her against you, part of her still loved you."
Alex stood abruptly and walked to the window. His shoulders were rigid, hands clenched.
Julian and Izzy exchanged glances.
"I need a minute," Alex said.
"We'll be outside," Julian said, pulling Izzy toward the door.
In the hallway, Izzy paced. "Should we have told him differently? Prepared him somehow?"
"There's no good way to find out your wife wanted to save your marriage the day before she died." Julian leaned against the wall. "He'll process it. He always does."
"What if this breaks him?"
"It won't. He's got you now. That makes all the difference."
Ten minutes later, Alex emerged. His eyes were red but clear.
"I need to see Vivienne," he said.
"Alex, I don't think....." Izzy started.
"She's right. I've been blaming myself for two years. But I also blamed her for not loving me enough to fight. Now I know she did want to fight. Vivienne took that choice away from both of us."
"So what are you going to do?" Julian asked.
"I don't know. But I need to face her. I need to hear her say it."
They found Vivienne at her penthouse, packing. Suitcases lay open on the bed, half-filled with clothes.
She turned when they entered, unsurprised. "I wondered if you'd come."
Alex stood in the doorway, unmoving. "Did you mean it? Everything in the confession?"
"Every word."
"Lila wanted to reconcile."
"Yes."
"And you stopped her."
"Yes."
Alex's jaw worked. "Why?"
"Because I was selfish and afraid and cruel. Because I loved Lila so much that I couldn't let her go, even when holding on was killing her." Vivienne's composure finally cracked. "I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm just telling you the truth. Lila loved you. She wanted to fix things. I stole that chance from both of you, and I'll live with that for the rest of my life."
Alex stepped closer. "You destroyed my wife. You made her final months a living hell. You took away our last chance at happiness."
"I know."
"And now you're leaving? Running away to Vermont like that fixes anything?"
"I'm not running. I'm surrendering. The DA will know where to find me. When they charge me, I'll plead guilty. I'll go to prison if that's what they decide. I'm not fighting anymore."
Alex stared at her for a long moment. Then he said, "I don't forgive you."
"I don't expect you to."
"But I understand you. That's the worst part. I understand being so afraid of losing someone that you destroy them instead." He turned to leave. "Lila deserved better than both of us."
"She did," Vivienne agreed. "But she loved you anyway."
Alex paused at the door. "I loved her too. I just wish I'd shown her that when it mattered."
"She knew. Even at the end, she knew."
They left Vivienne packing her suitcases, preparing for whatever came next.
In the car, Alex was silent. Izzy took his hand.
"You okay?" she asked.
"No. But I will be." He squeezed her fingers. "Lila wanted to fight for us. That has to mean something."
"It means you had something worth fighting for."
"And now?"
Izzy smiled. "Now you have someone who actually fights."
Alex pulled her close. "Best decision I ever made, hiring you."
"Second best," Izzy corrected. "The best was falling in love with me."
"That wasn't a decision. That just happened."
"Then I guess we're both lucky."