THE TOWERS FAMILY SAGA
        EPISODE 37
Virginia woke up at dawn
in the quiet of the condo.
She reached for Robert,
but the side of the bed
was cool and perfectly
smooth. She sat up, the
silence ringing in her
ears like a persistent,
dull alarm. Bella was
already awake, sitting on
the rug and staring at the
front door. The cat didn't
understand federal
sentencing or the Rim.
She only knew that the man
who smelled of cedar and
coffee wasn't home.
Virginia walked to the
kitchen and made a single
pot of bitter coffee. She
looked at the small space,
realizing how much bigger
it felt now. Without
Robert's presence, the
walls seemed to retreat.
She checked her phone, a
message from the lawyer
about the civil suits.
The developers were suing
for the delay. The state
was suing for the impact.
"Let them sue," she
muttered to the toaster.
"There's nothing left to
take but the boxes." She
felt a sudden flash of the
old Towers fire. She had
spent her life decorating
his legacy. Now, she was
tasked with the job of
dismantling it. She called
James at his new office.
"James, it's Virginia. I
need the list of the
private creditors again."
"Virginia, you don't have
to do this alone," James
said, his voice steady.
"Robert wanted the slate
clean, James. I'm going to
finish the job." She spent
the afternoon on the floor
with piles of papers and a
pen. She crossed off names
one by one, selling the
last of the stocks. She was
liquidating a history of
greed to pay for a future
of peace. Barbara stopped
by later with groceries.
"How is he, Mom?" "He's in
a cell, Barb. But he?s
probably more at peace
than we are." They sat
together on the small
balcony as the sun dipped
low. The park was full of
people who didn't know
the Towers name was a
curse in the papers.
"We?re going to be okay,"
Barbara said. "We have
to be," Virginia replied.
"The truth doesn't give
you a choice anyway."

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