A powerful full drama movie filled with love, secrets, and unexpected twists.
Follow a powerful story where relationships are tested, hidden truths are revealed, and lives change forever. From romantic moments to shocking surprises, this drama keeps you engaged from beginning to end.
Featuring stories about CEO, billionaire lifestyles, family connections, and life-changing decisions, this movie delivers strong emotions and unforgettable scenes.
Watch the full movie and discover what happens in the end.
New full drama movies uploaded regularly. Stay tuned for more captivating and trending stories.
#drama #fullmovie #lovestory #dramatic #billionaire #ceo #family #relationships #movie #story
Follow a powerful story where relationships are tested, hidden truths are revealed, and lives change forever. From romantic moments to shocking surprises, this drama keeps you engaged from beginning to end.
Featuring stories about CEO, billionaire lifestyles, family connections, and life-changing decisions, this movie delivers strong emotions and unforgettable scenes.
Watch the full movie and discover what happens in the end.
New full drama movies uploaded regularly. Stay tuned for more captivating and trending stories.
#drama #fullmovie #lovestory #dramatic #billionaire #ceo #family #relationships #movie #story
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FunTranscript
00:00:03she is the real killer you have been arrested
00:00:08i was in prison for 10 years for intentional homicide
00:00:1210 years of being screamed at beaten bullied my uterus damaged from the beatings my ankle
00:00:19shattered the only thing that kept me alive was one question i needed to ask my boyfriend
00:00:29why miles had been my night my loyal unwavering protector junior year of high school a girl
00:00:35tried to bully me the next day her naked photos were plastered across the school's main screen
00:00:41for everyone to see she never recovered senior year an older guy wanted me and slipped something
00:00:47into my drink miles put him in the hospital partial paralysis he never walked right again
00:00:58after that anyone who hurt me got hurt back because he'd made a promise in the front of
00:01:03my parents graves when i was 10 years old mr and mrs gratian i swear i'll protect jade for
00:01:08the rest of my life he kept that promise from the time i was 10 until i was 19 miles
00:01:14was like
00:01:15my shadow wherever i was he was behind me until i turned 19 miles fell in love with someone
00:01:23else she was loud and dazzling and nothing like anyone we'd ever known prove to me you're
00:01:32completely crazy about me and i'll be yours
00:01:38so miles drove a knife into her fiance again and again the man bled out when the police arrived
00:01:46miles pressed the knife into my hand then he pointed at me as they dragged me away the last thing
00:01:53i heard
00:01:53him say was i'm sorry the day i got out it snowed so hard i could barely see i stood
00:02:02at the prison gates
00:02:03feeling like i'd stepped out of a different century but i recognized him instantly
00:02:18jade
00:02:20i came to take you home
00:02:2410 years had stripped every trace of the boy he used to be
00:02:27he looked composed polished miles my voice came out quiet no anger in it i didn't have the energy
00:02:35for anger why my parents had died because of him murdered by his family's enemies he'd taken my
00:02:4110 year old hand and we'd run together we slept under highway overspence we fought rats for scraps of
00:02:47food on the coldest nights we held each other and shook until morning he worked three jobs to put me
00:02:52through school worked himself until he coughed up blood i cried when i saw it he just wiped his mouth
00:03:00and said i'm done for jade but you're not you've got something better ahead of you i never understood
00:03:07why someone who was basically my family would hand me a murder weapon and watch me get arrested
00:03:21i'm sorry jade i was out of my mind over fiona i'd never met anyone like her everything she did
00:03:27every look every word it got under my skin she said if i went to prison she'd end up with
00:03:31someone else
00:03:32i couldn't risk it i knew you'd get hurt but i couldn't lose her he said that while pulling fiona
00:03:38closer
00:03:41i was just talking when i said that i didn't think he'd actually stabbed
00:03:45marcus but the second he did i was gone for him don't feel too bad miles left you a house
00:03:54and 10
00:03:55million dollars how many people would kill for that kind of payout literally her voice had the easy
00:04:01confidence of someone giving a homeless person spare change none of it mattered to me not the money not
00:04:07the house i had a fascicle cancer stage four one month left maybe okay it's freezing out here jade get
00:04:18in the car miles turned and walked toward the house with fiona laughing at something she said
00:04:29he didn't notice me limping behind them didn't notice that every step cost me something
00:04:36we drove to fiona's estate security guards a staff of five a house that looked like a hotel
00:04:44everything miles and i used to dream about from under our overpass he'd gotten all of it
00:04:49he'd gotten every single thing we imagined and i'd gotten 10 years of concrete floors and iron bars
00:04:57when we pulled up fiona stepped in front of the door
00:05:02hold on
00:05:06i have a thing about germs you need to clean up before you come inside someone who's been in prison
00:05:11for a decade needs a proper scrub before setting foot in my house
00:05:15i understood exactly what she was doing the temperature was somewhere below 20. a cold shower
00:05:22outside would kill me i smiled politely that's fine i don't need to come in fiona's eyes sharpened
00:05:31she thought i was trying to make her look bad don't play victim with me you scrub down in cold
00:05:37water
00:05:37every day in there didn't you i looked at miles he met my eyes with something that might have been
00:05:42an apology then he said she's a little spoiled it's just a shower can you just go along with it
00:05:48i went still the man standing in front of me was not the miles i grew up with
00:05:53then i won't come in i said thank you for the offer i turned to go his voice stopped me
00:06:00are you seriously still holding a grudge i said i'd make it up to you what more do you want
00:06:05i turned back
00:06:07did i kill someone did i put you in prison for 10 years did i invite myself into your house
00:06:13three
00:06:14questions his face went red you're coming inside and you're doing it clean all of ice i curled into
00:06:23myself arms wrapped around my chest shaking so hard my teeth rattled my spring jacket went so cool in
00:06:29seconds i lifted my head there you go i took care of it stop being mad you're too pretty to
00:06:34make that
00:06:35face she pressed herself against him and kissed him and right there on the steps like i wasn't on
00:06:39my knees in the ice water ten feet away i stopped fighting i let the water hit me a night
00:06:45years ago
00:06:46also snowing miles and i huddled under a highway overpass one rotting blanket between us this is the
00:06:53last cold winter we'll ever have jade i swear i will never let you freeze again i had believed him
00:06:59completely but he had forgotten completely now eventually fiona clapped her hands all right that's
00:07:07enough you're clean come inside i was soaking wet and shaking when my body went forward instead of upright
00:07:19i woke up three days later miles was talking to the house doctor
00:07:29when he saw my eyes open he came to the bed quickly jade i'm sorry i didn't know your body
00:07:35was this bad
00:07:36is anything still hurting i shook my head he waited i didn't say anything finally he asked quietly
00:07:44your leg why are you how did that happen i looked at the ceiling the block leader in my unit
00:07:49i wouldn't hand over the money i earned doing labor so they broke my ankle to teach me a lesson
00:07:58after that they decided that was boring so they stopped letting me eat whatever food i got they took
00:08:04then that got boring too so they held me down and force-fed me scalding food straight from the pot
00:08:10silence silence why didn't you tell me yesterday his voice came out strange tight i used to i said
00:08:21the first time they hit me i screamed your name miles help me miles come get me
00:08:27then i figured out it didn't work eventually you stopped calling for someone who isn't coming
00:08:33he grabbed my hand his was shaking i'm getting you the best doctors you're going to get better
00:08:38i'll give you back everything i took from you stay here while you recover i'll have someone with you
00:08:42around the clock when you're well i'll feel better about you leaving i gave him a small smile okay
00:08:51he was going to be disappointed i wouldn't live long enough for any of that
00:08:58rest i'll check on you later then walked out fast like the room was on fire that afternoon he
00:09:06transferred the deed on a house in the sobirds into my name and put 10 million dollars in a new
00:09:11bank
00:09:11account thank you he started to say something else but seemed to lose it your old things everything's in
00:09:18here thank you do you have to be this formal with me i know i did miles dinner i didn't
00:09:25want to go
00:09:26i physically couldn't eat anymore the cancer made sure of that but fiona said she'd cooked specifically
00:09:31for me to help me get my strength back and i had to come down so i did i took
00:09:36one sip of the soup
00:09:38my esophagus felt like it caught fire i set down my spoon thank you for making this fiona it's really
00:09:46good i'm full are you doing this on purpose you had one sip i cooked for three hours you're finishing
00:09:55every bite the smell of the food alone had my stomach turning i'm not well i said my face had
00:10:06gone
00:10:06white i genuinely can't because i scared you into the hospital last week i made this as an apology
00:10:12and you can't even give me the decency of eating it i should have saved myself the trouble the
00:10:18housekeeper piped up from the corner she burned her hands making it got blisters some people don't
00:10:23know how to appreciate kindness ungrateful without looking up he said jade don't cause a scene she put
00:10:30in the effort just finish it i laughed before i could stop myself then i pressed the laugh down and
00:10:36said
00:10:37quietly miles i have ethophical cancer stage four i can't eat
00:10:44and now you're cursing yourself you're going to die next i assume
00:10:50it's one meal jade stop being dramatic
00:10:58miles said nothing he just looked at me cold the doctor i hired checked you over you're fine
00:11:06malnourished but nothing serious he put down his knife is there some reason you keep targeting fiona
00:11:11what do you actually want no she is the one who targets me but saying that would just be more
00:11:17arguing
00:11:20every swallow felt like swallowing glass soaked in blame my throat was a ruin but i put down every
00:11:25bite every spoonful every last drop of that scent when the bowl is empty i looked at pionic is that
00:11:31enough
00:11:33see wasn't so hard enjoy the rest of dinner
00:11:40down the hall into my room into the bathroom and i fell on my knees in front of the toilet
00:11:45everything
00:11:45came back up and then blood a lot of blood the red of it against the white porcelain was something
00:11:51i
00:11:51couldn't look away from i stayed there a long time then i flushed rinsed my face
00:12:02i told the guard to wait at the door and i went into the director's office alone the director of
00:12:07the group home looked at the figure i'd written down miss gracem are you sure that's a significant
00:12:11amount i'm not going to need it the temperature in the room dropped medicine is advanced now you
00:12:18never know there's no one left who needs me to come home too my parents were murdered 18 years ago
00:12:25no siblings no partner the only person who ever said he'd look after me he's gone too she didn't
00:12:32push after that she pulled out the paperwork and i signed it the house in the suburbs and all the
00:12:37cash all of it jade you're not supposed to be wandering around what are you doing here
00:12:49the director opened her mouth miss grayson came to donate clothes for the kids winter's coming
00:12:57don't bother miles is donating 20 million tomorrow for my birthday your secondhand stuff would probably
00:13:04give the kids a rash we should do the party at home this year i've already invited everyone
00:13:11i love when you plan my birthdays you're the best husband in the world
00:13:17i slipped the donation agreement into my coat pocket he only would have had to look down to see it
00:13:23he didn't he also didn't remember that tomorrow was my birthday too
00:13:30the birthday party was loud from the moment it started music voices the sound of expensive things
00:13:39i wanted to see it just for a minute i opened my door and miles was already in the hall
00:13:46radiating the energy of someone who'd fully arrived at the life he always wanted did you need
00:13:50something actually i was just stay in your room today miles didn't wait for me to finish fiona's been
00:13:56looking forward to this i don't want anything upsetting her and honestly with your leg he didn't finish that
00:14:04sentence he didn't have to just rest you think i'll embarrass you
00:14:12fiona's friends are from serious families you'd be it's not the right setting
00:14:17and i don't want fiona finding out about our history understood
00:14:23i got it i smiled even i could tell it looked wrong i shut the door but at 10 o
00:14:30'clock i slipped out anyway
00:14:31and crept into the back garden the music rattled my bones a 10-steer cake red roses everywhere petals
00:14:38crushed into the grass the guests moved in formal wear champagne in hand laughing too loud everything
00:14:42fiona touched was excess i just wanted one candle that was all i had just slipped one into my pocket
00:14:48when fiona's friends found me who's this crashing the party i'm not the woman at the front didn't listen
00:14:56she shoved i went down the 10-tier cake took out the champagne tower on its way glass and wine
00:15:03and
00:15:03frosting all of it collapsing in one spectacular crash the whole garden went quiet
00:15:11miles was already walking toward me when i hit the ground fiona right behind him i told you to stay
00:15:17in
00:15:17your room he looked at me on the floor he didn't ask if i was hurt miles she was about
00:15:24to set the drapes on
00:15:25fire i saw her with the lighter jade how could you do this to me i let you into my
00:15:32home after
00:15:33everything you want to get back at me the guests circled she actually tried to burn the place down
00:15:3910 years in prison and she's still not done causing problems get her out of here i pushed myself up
00:15:45off
00:15:46the ground there was glassing in my arms but i didn't feel it yet i wasn't trying to ruin anything
00:15:52i just wanted a candle i looked at miles he shook his head slowly disappointed
00:15:59stop making excuses i'm sending you out of the country after night don't come back right now get out
00:16:08i could have said something i didn't i walked out through the front lopsided slow every step costing me
00:16:15the party picked back up the second i cleared the door i reached into my pocket for the candle
00:16:21it had broken in the fall i held the two pieces i didn't have a lighter anyway
00:16:29happy 30th birthday jade i said to no one life is really something don't bother coming back next time
00:16:38around the party went until midnight the cold had gotten into my throat and i could feel it
00:16:45i wrapped my arms around myself and started back toward the house jade miles was walking towards me
00:16:52through the snow hands in his coat pockets i've already contacted a broker three days from now you're
00:17:00leaving the city i'm not putting you through legal kernels someone will take you across the border
00:17:06no exit record no way back don't call me cruel we're from different worlds now i'm not going to
00:17:13keep watching her get hurt i'll make sure you have a doctor and a caregiver you'll be taken care of
00:17:20for
00:17:20life my blood went cold i looked at him really looked his face which i'd known since i was 10.
00:17:32so you
00:17:32never believe me at all does it matter i almost laughed no i guess it doesn't fine whatever you want
00:17:43i took two steps then stopped
00:17:48if i died would you be sad
00:17:52no answer i turned around miles was already halfway across the garden walking away
00:17:58back in my room i pulled out a notebook yellow-edged pages covered in handwriting
00:18:06small things things i'd written down because i never wanted to forget them spring 2013 miles kissed
00:18:14me for the first time i didn't know what to do with my hands he covered my ears and i
00:18:19could hear
00:18:19everything anyway summer 2014 i pretended to fall asleep on his shoulder on the bus
00:18:27i'm going to make enough money to give you a real home jade he kissed my forehead when he thought
00:18:32i was
00:18:32out he whispered fall 2015. he was doing construction work he saved up and bought me a pair of pink
00:18:40ballet flats
00:18:41you're going to be a dancer someday a real one
00:18:46every page every line full of the specific texture of being 17 and in love and not knowing how fast
00:18:52things
00:18:52end reading them now i felt nothing absolutely nothing i tore out the first page then the next then all
00:19:00of
00:19:01them the pieces floated down and covered the floor and i watched them fall and felt nothing at all
00:19:08like watching someone else's life dissolve 20 years gone
00:19:17the next morning someone knocked fiona let herself in before i answered
00:19:22yesterday was your birthday miles forgot he asked me to bring you this
00:19:29he said you like dancing so i picked these out there are real diamonds on them
00:19:35very expensive i looked at the ballet flats pink beautiful i thought about the day i'd been arrested
00:19:44i'd gone looking for miles because i had good news the original pair he'd given me had gotten me a
00:19:50call
00:19:50back at a dance studio he wouldn't have to work so hard anymore i wanted to surprise him he surprised
00:19:57me instead i pulled myself back ballet shoes for a cripple does he think i can dance
00:20:06fiona tilted her head almost apologetic not quite i forgot about your leg my mistake let me make it up
00:20:15to
00:20:15you i'll throw you a little send-off party since you're leaving anyway besides you won't get to wear
00:20:21things this nice once you're gone i looked at her for a long moment you really don't like me
00:20:28what exactly are you scared of you already married him the brightness drained off her face nobody
00:20:34knew how much she thought about those years the years before her miles and i depending on each other
00:20:39for everything growing up wound together like a single thread it had lived in her chest like a splinter
00:20:45for years festering a jailbird with delusions of relevance i touched my cheek
00:20:54then i slapped her back the housekeeper in the hallway shrieked she hit mrs wells miles came in at a
00:21:02run he saw fiona's face he crossed to her and touched her cheek with two careful fingers voice low does
00:21:09it
00:21:09hurt she burrowed into his chest and started crying he looked at me over her head like i was
00:21:17something he'd stepped in apologize to her she hit me first i said apologize jade don't push me i looked
00:21:27at him at his eyes at the stranger behind them fine i apologize i picked up the fruit knife from
00:21:34the table
00:21:34and dragged it across the side of my face deep the blood came fast soaking into my collar i slapped
00:21:41her once i gave up half my face i dropped the knife at his feet happy now miles went completely
00:21:48still
00:21:50you did that to get back at him he compensated you he doesn't owe you anything
00:21:56if i wanted revenge he'd spend the rest of his life in pain that's enough fiona stop he took her
00:22:02arm
00:22:03i'm taking you to get checked he walked past me didn't look at the blood on my face fiona threw
00:22:09me a look of pure triumph over her shoulder i watched them go this time there was nothing left
00:22:14to forgive when the room was quiet i picked up the landline and dialed a number i'd memorized long ago
00:22:22hi is this the harrington medical history museum i'd like to donate some personal effects
00:22:29may i ask this is regarding professor wells the medical researcher yes what are the items his
00:22:34remains and his wife's on the day they're put on public display i'd like you to personally invite
00:22:40his son miles wells to attend it was the professor's final wish i hung up a few minutes later i
00:22:46heard a
00:22:46car outside fiona climbed the passenger side pouting at miles about nothing he caught her by the shoulders
00:22:53and held her against him tight like he was trying to press her into his chest you're all i have
00:23:00left
00:23:01he glanced up at my window i was already looking down at him i shut the curtain heavy footsteps in
00:23:07the
00:23:07hall my door opened i brought the doctor don't need him miles save it he stood there visibly at a
00:23:22loss
00:23:23jade can you stop being difficult for one second if you have a grievance take it out on me not
00:23:29on fiona
00:23:29she didn't do anything i looked at him for a long time then i nodded two days don't speak to
00:23:40me don't
00:23:41do me any favors if you leave me alone for the two days before i go i won't touch fiona
00:23:47do we have a deal he was quiet for a moment fine your face doesn't matter anymore the next morning
00:23:56fiona
00:23:56showed up with a makeup artist and a rack of her old dresses these are last season but you'll probably
00:24:02never have access to this kind of quality again i let them put me together washed dressed face covered
00:24:10in foundation that didn't quite hide the wound when i looked in the mirror i looked like a woman who
00:24:17was
00:24:17pretending very hard to be alive at the party no one said happy birthday fiona's friends filtered in and
00:24:26made quiet scanty remarks about me just loud enough to land why are we here for her again
00:24:32what happened to her face bad karma then fiona called for the room's attention she's leaving
00:24:38town in a few days miles is actually smuggling her out no passport no record if any of you run
00:24:45into
00:24:45her in europe look after her okay her friends cackled europe's gain is our loss i guess damaged
00:24:51goods but still miles frowned but said nothing then the projector came on i recognized what was on the
00:24:59screen before my brain caught up to me on a prison floor naked hair in a fist being forced to
00:25:08lick
00:25:08something off the concrete my face my hair everything soaked in things i couldn't name a voice on the
00:25:14recording keep licking you're done when i say you're done is that jade fiona said with exaggerated
00:25:21horror the room turned to look at me she was having a good time in there imagine what she'll get
00:25:27up to
00:25:27abroad these people were never going to survive without an audience i heard it all miles flushing
00:25:35told the staff to cut the feed i looked at him you think that's humiliating for you miles that was
00:25:43yours to carry all of it the room didn't know that people started asking questions fiona panicked she
00:25:52could see where this was going and stepped in front of me dug her nails into my arm stop making
00:25:59things up
00:26:00i pushed her off it wasn't hard but fiona's foot caught the edge of the step and she went backward
00:26:06rolling down two stairs she hit the floor and didn't get up her hands pressed to her stomach
00:26:13the white fabric of her pants went red oh god there's so much blood
00:26:21fiona fiona look at me miles dropped to his knees beside her hands shaking face stripped of everything
00:26:28except panic fiona's lips had gone white it hurts my stomach hurts so bad he lifted her and carried her
00:26:37out her friends followed the room emptied in under a minute i walked to the dessert table and cut a
00:26:46small
00:26:47piece of cake with my fork it tasted bitter
00:26:53late that night my door came off its hinges miles filled the doorframe his face was a wreck
00:27:00she lost the baby jade his voice broke on the last word we tried for 10 years over 100 ivf
00:27:09cycles we
00:27:10finally got pregnant and now because of you it's gone
00:27:17i told you if you want to hurt someone hurt me why do you keep going after her i didn't
00:27:24explain my
00:27:25smile came out hollow and exhausted my whole family was destroyed why should yours stay intact
00:27:32he crossed the room and grabbed my shoulders his grip was brutal
00:27:40you promised me you looked me in the eye and promised the pain was blinding i kept my face arranged
00:27:46and you
00:27:47believed me miles 10 years in prison plus my parents for one life i got the short end of that
00:27:55deal
00:27:57he let go like i'd burned him i'm done tolerating this
00:28:02he dragged me out of the house personally someone brought a long leather strap with metal studs worked
00:28:09into it and miles took it himself he hit me until i stopped registering it as pain my back opened
00:28:16up
00:28:16the cold and the blood mixed together somewhere i couldn't feel anymore snow and cotton stuffing from
00:28:22my jacket blew around me in the dark i thought dying at his hands wouldn't be the worst ending but
00:28:28after
00:28:29i blacked out he called paramedics they pumped enough adrenaline into me to drag me back from wherever
00:28:34i'd been going i woke up the next day to his voice flat and final you won't get another opportunity
00:28:41to
00:28:42touch her before i could move two guards halted me up shoved me into a car my back screamed my
00:28:49face was still
00:28:50half numb the car pulled away before miles came back out i sat in the back seat and watched the
00:28:58neighborhood pass they don't need to take me to the docks the driver laughed the docks sure you
00:29:07think you're getting on a boat someone paid a lot of money for you to not make it i sat
00:29:12with that
00:29:12information okay just don't make it slow and when it's over could you scatter my ashes in the hills
00:29:21clearwater ridge my parents are buried there the driver glanced at me in the mirror like he couldn't
00:29:26quite figure out what to do with a woman who negotiated the terms of her own disposal
00:29:32fine sure then the light changed and a tanker ran straight through the intersection
00:29:39the car flipped
00:29:42miles stood at his study window staring at nothing something had been off since the afternoon a
00:29:47formless unease the feeling of something important slipping through his hands he almost called his
00:29:52assistant about jade then he stopped himself they had no relationship anymore she'd have her life
00:29:58he'd have his that was the point of sending her away he took out his wallet inside was a photo
00:30:04he'd carried for years jade at 18 laughing full and open at whoever was behind the camera he stared at
00:30:11it for three seconds then he tore it in half then again then again until it was nothing even so
00:30:19the ache behind his ribs got worse fiona came in and found him rubbing his chest she startled is it
00:30:26your heart do you need to go in i'm fine he hesitated is jade on the flight yet fiona's expression
00:30:34smoothed should be boarding about now she came to him and pressed her thumbs between his frowes
00:30:40working out the crease she's going to be okay i've already set things up for her in italy
00:30:47thank you miles pulled her in and rested his chin on her hair i don't know what i'd do without
00:30:53you
00:30:53she smiled into his shoulder i'm going to check on the stove don't move
00:31:01in the hallway she nearly collided with his assistant coming the other way face pale mrs wells
00:31:08lower your voice the assistant caught his breath it's been an accident the car with miss grayson was
00:31:14hit by a tanker the driver is dead miss grayson it's not looking good fiona pressed her lips together
00:31:22very hard she turned her face toward the window so the assistant couldn't read it i'll handle this
00:31:28mr wells has a lot on his plate right now don't bring it to him yes ma'am after he
00:31:33left she called a
00:31:34friend who worked with the police your guys just cleared a wreck on route nine the woman in the back
00:31:39what's the status we just wrapped the scene nobody made it fiona had to press her hand over her mouth
00:31:45to keep the noise in she waited until she was sure she could walk straight then went back downstairs
00:31:51over dinner she hummed between bites ate more than she had in weeks you seem happy she gave him a
00:31:58sideways
00:31:59look my worst enemy apparently just died in a car accident is that bad miles set his fork down 10
00:32:06years she'd said he'd also spent 10 years betraying jade the manager of the group home arrived just as
00:32:13they were finishing fiona moved to intercept he's probably just here about the donation let him through
00:32:19send him in
00:32:22the first thing out of the director's mouth was mr wells do you know where jade is i need to
00:32:28speak with her
00:32:29she's already left the country is something wrong left she didn't mention the director looked confused
00:32:36mr wells i probably shouldn't say this but when she came in jade signed over everything the house all
00:32:42the cash she doesn't have anything left she can't afford treatment what are you talking about the
00:32:48director pulled out the paperwork miles took the agreement he read it to the bottom where her name
00:32:54was signed and felt the floor go out from under him he grabbed the director's collar when was this
00:32:59signed the director went white the same day you and your wife came in she was there when you arrived
00:33:06you saw her miles thought back he had seen her she'd said she was donating old clothes fiona understood
00:33:14immediately what was happening she couldn't let this unravel this is a setup we both know miles had her
00:33:20examined by a doctor she's fine this is her trying to manipulate him before she leaves the director's
00:33:26face went red mrs wells the paperwork clearly shows miles had already gone cold and logical the doctor
00:33:33confirmed she was healthy no major illness tell jay to drop the act this kind of play doesn't work on
00:33:40me
00:33:40please see yourself out the director left furious miles stood in the quiet of his own home feeling
00:33:46something he couldn't name fiona talked him back to himself she was always doing this trying to get
00:33:52between us she's gone now let it go i need to verify he texted his assistant and put the investigation
00:34:01into motion three hours later his phone rang mr wells the director wasn't lying miles went very still
00:34:08i pulled her prison medical records i forwarded them to your email there's a department stamp on everything
00:34:15that's not possible i had her examined sir i spoke to the doctor directly he said
00:34:22you're saying she actually has cancer
00:34:25yes sir from what i can piece together the prison records show it began a year ago the file says
00:34:29due
00:34:30to repeated incidents of being force-fed scalding food her esophagus sustained significant damage
00:34:34by the time of her release it had progressed to stage four miles hung up he opened his email the
00:34:40date
00:34:40on the report was a year before her release patient presents with advanced stage esophial cancer damage
00:34:45to esophical lining consisted with repeated thermal injury prognosis terminal no viable treatment options
00:34:51at that stage his phone hit the floor he thought about the first night she'd been back fiona cooking
00:34:56him ordering jade to eat jadie's face when she tried to swallow her eyes so tired so completely without
00:35:03hope he'd called that manipulation he threw on his coat and drove to the doctor's building
00:35:10the second the man opened his door he said the full body exam you ran on jade grayson she came
00:35:15back
00:35:15clean right this whole cancer thing she made that up didn't she the doctor blinked half asleep miss
00:35:23grayson what's happened to her miles grabbed his shoulders just tell me the cancer diagnosis is false
00:35:29tell me you ran the full panel mr wells i i never examined her esophagus mrs wells told me it
00:35:37wasn't
00:35:37necessary i i handled the external injuries and that was it though even then i had concerns
00:35:44her throat looked wrong to me but mrs wells was very firm so i let it go fiona the drive
00:35:51home was
00:35:51automatic he didn't remember making it it was snowing hard he stood outside his own front door too cold to
00:35:58feel cold thinking about every meal he forced into jade's ruined throat every moment he called her
00:36:02a liar every time he turned away inside he heard fiona's voice through a door left slightly open so
00:36:08what if he figures it out you think he's going to leave me over jade grayson is he going to
00:36:13divorce
00:36:13me for her please miles watched through the gap fiona paced the room throwing her makeup onto the dresser
00:36:21hard enough to rattle everything the housekeeper at her side kept murmuring agreement
00:36:28she's been a splinter in my life for years the way miles used to look at that old photo the
00:36:33way he
00:36:33said her name in his sleep i had to do something she stopped pacing now she's gone and she's not
00:36:39coming
00:36:39back he'll get over it he always does miles stood in the hallway he didn't go in
00:36:49he went to his study instead and let himself sink into the couch and the past came back in pieces
00:36:57under the bridge the two of them eight and ten years old wrapped in the same rotting blanket
00:37:03i promise you jade this is the last bad winter i'll never let you go cold again what had he
00:37:10done instead
00:37:10he'd forced food down her dying throat let fiona soak her in ice water believed every accusation
00:37:19without a question whipped her in the snow he thought about her slicing her own face open to
00:37:27give him the apology he demanded he'd looked straight at it and walked fiona out the door when
00:37:32he came back to himself his face was wet he wiped it and reached for his phone his hands shook
00:37:38so badly
00:37:39he almost couldn't dial find her whatever it costs find her and bring her back there was a pause
00:37:48sir after you hung up earlier i made some calls the hospital she was taken to after the accident
00:37:53they confirmed she was brought in she was treated she survived the surgery
00:37:59but she left the hospital that same night she's not in the system after that
00:38:06miles's voice came out barely above a whisper what do you mean she survived the fire records don't
00:38:13include her name sir i think there may have been an error in the earlier report she's not dead
00:38:17miles sat very still he said again find her don't stop
00:38:25miles avoided fiona for two days when he finally had to face her he kept his back to the window
00:38:32his voice flat
00:38:38told her he'd found new evidence of jade trying to drive them apart and he decided to cut off all
00:38:43support entirely
00:38:45fiona's face lit up in a way she tried very hard to suppress he watched it happen watched her fight
00:38:52the
00:38:52smile she was losing that was all he needed that afternoon she invited her friends for drinks miles
00:38:59had his assistant wire the study with a recorder honestly she did us all a favor by dying fiona said
00:39:06her glass caught the light i've been dealing with that woman's ghost in my marriage for 10 years
00:39:12we all know you were running damage control on this situation for years
00:39:18that prison block thing alone don't fiona's voice went sharp that stays in this room if miles finds out
00:39:24i arranged any of that i'll deal with you personally we know we know the miscarriage was a write-off
00:39:32the timing worked out perfectly
00:39:37exactly and the pregnancy was already failing the doctor told me months ago i just held on to
00:39:43it until i had a use for it the recorder got all of it miles sat alone with his copy
00:39:48of the audio file
00:39:49for a long time he pulled up every piece of security footage he could access the prison feeds fiona had
00:39:55never known he had access to through an old contact the household cameras he watched them alone afterward
00:40:01he sat in the dark for a while with his face in his hands
00:40:06then he found fiona upstairs she saw his expression and stopped what happened why are you looking at me
00:40:15like that did you have anything to do with jade's accident fiona recovered quickly
00:40:23why would i this again miles really he hit play on the recording exactly the doctor told me months
00:40:29ago her voice filled the room the color left her face you had me wire on surveillance she said her
00:40:36voice had gone very quiet very dangerous you don't trust me at all i trusted you completely
00:40:43that's how this happened you're in love with her her voice cracked into something high and ugly admit it
00:40:49you've been in love with her this whole time the photo in your wallet saying her name in your
00:40:54sleep none of that is the point then what is the point she's dead it's over can't we just i
00:40:59want
00:40:59to divorce fiona the word landed she stared at him for a long moment no no you don't get to
00:41:07do that
00:41:09you spent 10 years telling me i was everything to you and now you're throwing me away for a ghost
00:41:15you think i'll sign those papers never the next morning miles had a lawyer on the phone before
00:41:21breakfast fiona refused to meet with anyone he filed on his own he went to the hospital after he thought
00:41:29he could claim jade's remains he was told that unclaimed bodies from that transfer had been processed
00:41:35together and could no longer be individually identified he walked back out into the street
00:41:44he was standing there not going anywhere in particular
00:41:50when a woman in front of him turned at exactly the right angle same posture same way of holding
00:41:55herself he caught her shoulder jade she turned someone he'd never seen before what's your problem she said
00:42:04and pulled away miles stepped back from the black audi parked at the curb the man behind the wheel
00:42:11turned to look at the passenger seat jade was watching miles on the sidewalk with no expression on her
00:42:17face no she looked for a moment longer no her voice came out rough and low the surgery had done
00:42:26what it
00:42:26could callum didn't cook the car moved forward and the man on the sidewalk disappeared behind them
00:42:34she had first seen callum on the gurney on the way to the operating room i'd grabbed his arm
00:42:39fingers slippery with blood don't save the room for someone who wants that's not how i work you're here
00:42:45i'm here i'm not letting you drop my numbers the surgery took four hours she came through
00:42:51she learned later that callum was one of the best surgical specialists in the country trained overseas
00:42:58just back cutting-edge technique impossible reputation when she woke up she typed into her phone
00:43:06hands still trembling you saved me i didn't want you to callum read it without blinking that's your
00:43:12problem not mine i don't do refunds i can't pay you i didn't ask you to she'd seen kindness before
00:43:19or what passed for it it didn't reach her anymore that night she slipped out of the hospital and walked
00:43:25to the bridge over the river sat on the railing for a while then let herself go the water was
00:43:31black and
00:43:32freezing she went down and then someone was in the water with her she woke up on the riverbank coughing
00:43:39callum's hands pressed against her sternum why she managed she went down why do you keep saving me
00:43:48let me go no he sat back your father taught me in my first year of med school he was
00:43:56the best professor
00:43:57i had when i heard he'd been killed i came back to find you you were already gone
00:44:06i've been looking for a long time jade she passed out again before she could answer
00:44:12callum took her home he set up a camera in the living room not because i don't trust you because
00:44:19i
00:44:19don't trust you and she stayed they learned each other slowly he'd ask what do you want for dinner
00:44:34whatever do you want to go see something tonight there's a ballet company in town and the dead
00:44:38place behind her eyes would shift just slightly okay she watched the performance that first night
00:44:49and understood for the first time in a long time what it felt like to want something
00:44:57she also saw in the crowd on the way out a familiar silhouette she moved without thinking
00:45:04pressing herself into calum's chest he felt her tense and understood before she said anything
00:45:11hiding from someone he said quietly into her hair yes
00:45:16miles's hand caught her shoulder from behind calum looked up he'd seen this man before outside on the
00:45:22street you've got the wrong person calum said pleasant and firm this is my girlfriend
00:45:28her name's not jade let me see her face she doesn't like strangers and you don't have any claim on
00:45:37her
00:45:37attention he kept his voice easy i think we're done here miles didn't let go jade pressed her face
00:45:43against calum's collar tucked herself in and made a small sound almost nothing just presence warmth the
00:45:50suggestion of belonging somewhere miles released her shoulder he stood there for a moment then he said
00:45:57i'm sorry she reminds me of someone he walked away in the parking garage calum set her down and looked
00:46:05at her
00:46:07that was him it wasn't a question i'd rather not talk about it fair he opened the car door
00:46:17what if i told you i might be able to get your leg back would that change the conversation she
00:46:23stopped
00:46:29what do you mean back full mobility isn't guaranteed but a colleague of mine thinks it's
00:46:34possible with surgery and rehab the damage is post-traumatic which means there's more to work
00:46:39with he tilted his head it'll hurt a lot and it'll take time but you'd be dancing again she stared
00:46:47at him
00:46:48for a long time let me think meanwhile miles came home to find fiona on his couch she had a
00:46:57container of
00:46:57soup and her best expression of concern i heard you had a rough day i made this he looked at
00:47:04her you can
00:47:05go fiona
00:47:10miles miles i know you're still upset but can we just the person you should have been apologizing to
00:47:15is dead there's nothing left to negotiate she was lucky she died honestly at least she's not suffering
00:47:23anymore he grabbed her by the arm and walked her to the front door
00:47:31don't come back you're hurting me you had her tortured for 10 years his voice came out very
00:47:39quiet you bribed prison staff you arranged what happened to her you told my doctor not to examine
00:47:44her throat you knew she was dying and you let me force food into her and then you arranged to
00:47:49have
00:47:49her killed she's alive jade and the only reason you ever had a marriage was because she was in a
00:47:55cell
00:47:56taking the punishment you arranged for her he pushed fiona out and closed the door
00:48:03she pounded on it for a while
00:48:10he went to his study and pulled out the shrouded photo he taped the pieces back together her face
00:48:16was still missing a corner
00:48:21his phone rang his assistant she might be alive
00:48:26miles's hand clenched around the phone say that again her name isn't in the cremation record
00:48:33sir i think the hospital made an error in their initial report and i found security footage she
00:48:39left on her own after surgery she walked out miles closed his eyes find her whatever it takes jade
00:48:47told calium everything one evening sitting on his balcony with two cups of tea she didn't drink
00:48:53she expected skepticism pity at best what she got was you were incredibly brave i don't know if i'd have
00:49:00survived any of that she looked at him sideways don't i'm not saying it to make you feel better i
00:49:07mean it
00:49:07he was serious fully present in a way that made her uncomfortable the version of you who lived through
00:49:13all that and is still sitting here deserves a lot more credit than she gives herself her eyes stung
00:49:18she looked away
00:49:24you don't know me
00:49:27i know more than you think he set down his cup i saw you dance when you were 16 at
00:49:33your father's
00:49:33faculty recital i was there doing a seminar presentation you came out in the second half
00:49:38totally unrehearsed filling in for someone i barely knew what i was watching but i couldn't look away
00:49:43you were don't i'm not done he let the quiet sit for a second you were exactly what you were
00:49:52supposed
00:49:52to be completely yourself and then everything happened and you disappeared and i never stopped
00:49:58wondering what you became she had to put her tea down because her hands were shaking
00:50:04i'm a cripple with a scarred face who spent 10 years in prison that's what i became
00:50:14none of those things are what you are she wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist
00:50:21thank you that's thank you he slid his hand across the table palm up make a bet with me
00:50:32she looked at his hand
00:50:37you're going to dance again professionally i'd put money on it if you win i owe you something
00:50:45jade he waited until she looked at him even dead to the world and want to stay that way brave
00:50:51you're really going to tell me you're scared of a bet
00:50:55she put her hand in his the surgery on her leg took six hours seven days later she started physical
00:51:02therapy the first day she made it two steps before the floor came up to meet her
00:51:08calum crouched in front of her unhurrying
00:51:20she got up two months later her doctor said i've never seen anyone come back this fast
00:51:27calum also made his own remedy for the scar on her face something he mixed from herbs in
00:51:33small batches and applied himself without making a thing of it after eight weeks there was a faint
00:51:38line that was all he took her to see the world in pieces a quiet town on the coast where
00:51:46they did her
00:51:46physiotherapy on the beach a weekend in the mountains a very loud jazz bar where she laughed for the first
00:51:54time in recent memory and then didn't know what to do about it you can do that it's legal there
00:52:06were
00:52:06hard nights nights she told him to give up on her he always said the same thing no when you're
00:52:14done we keep
00:52:15going six months after the accident he entered her in the national ballet competition
00:52:23cali i'm going to embarrass both of us if you don't place you try again she was 23rd in the
00:52:30order
00:52:31she was also the oldest person competing when they called her name she walked out
00:52:40she closed her eyes let her muscles remember what her brain had been trying to reconstruct for months
00:52:46she moved through the routine and it held turn and lift and the landing she came down a fraction wrong
00:52:55the panel gave her eight for someone who'd relearned how to walk 14 months ago
00:53:00eights were extraordinary
00:53:04she thanked the judges started toward the steps saw miles in the front row jade
00:53:13is it really you how have you been he looked stunned like he couldn't process the geometry of her
00:53:23being alive good i said my voice was flat i'd be better if i hadn't seen you he flinched i
00:53:31walked
00:53:31around him he followed jade i know everything i know what fiona did i know i was wrong i'm sorry
00:53:41people nearby were
00:53:43starting to glance over someone had recognized him she divorced because of an old girlfriend
00:53:49someone whispered i kept walking he got ahead of me and put his hand on my arm
00:53:56i finally found you give me one minute i stopped your apology is noted
00:54:05i heard it now don't touch me he let go fiona set everything up the prison the doctor all of
00:54:15it
00:54:15i know i filed for divorce none of that has anything to do with me you were the one who
00:54:23had me shipped out
00:54:23of the country you're the one who stood there while they hosed me down in january you looked at the
00:54:28knife in my hand and didn't ask a single question she may have arranged the pieces but you were happy
00:54:35to believe the picture i met his eyes your divorce is your business i started to walk again a hand
00:54:45touched
00:54:45my shoulder from the other direction callum i moved to him without thinking some of the tension
00:54:51went out of my body just from proximity took you long enough two emergency cases
00:54:58he looked over my head at miles i remember you miles looked back you're her boyfriend apparently
00:55:06he kept his voice pleasant and only slightly pointed can i help you with something miles's jaw tightened
00:55:14you can't give her what she deserves callum gave a short laugh you mean the woman you let get beaten
00:55:21starved iced down and nearly murdered that's a high bar coming from you you don't know
00:55:33i know enough he said it without heat like a fact i also know i'd never ask the woman i
00:55:39love
00:55:40to pay for my mistakes miles swung first
00:55:46callum swung back two grown men in a theater lobby and by the time security pulled them apart
00:55:52they'd both done real damage the police arrived all three of us went to the station the officer
00:56:01processing us looked back and forth both of you are pushing 40 right what is this prom
00:56:08callum pressed his split lip with his sleeve officer with respect at least teenagers fight for people
00:56:13they'd actually protect this man watched her get tortured miles said nothing just stared at the floor
00:56:20they let us go after we paid fines outside the station i bought antiseptic and bandages from a corner pharmacy
00:56:31and pulled callum to a bench
00:56:37hold still
00:56:40i'm fine
00:56:41you have a cut that's still bleeding and a bruise that's going to be spectacular by morning
00:56:45you're not fine he watched me work something quiet in his face
00:56:52does it hurt not really it definitely does
00:56:59i've had worse he caught my hand when i reached for the next bandage held it
00:57:07stop worrying from where he was standing nearby miles said jade i got hurt too
00:57:17then a car pulled up fiona got out you didn't die
00:57:25disappointing i know she recovered i don't know what you're implying i'd be very careful making
00:57:32accusations you can't back up we both know what you did you know you know it miles had caught
00:57:41something in the exchange he looked at fiona with an expression i'd never seen on him before
00:57:48what else did you do nothing she's trying to i'll find out i always do and when i do i
00:57:54won't be
00:57:55careful with you fiona's bravado lasted another four seconds then she got back in her car
00:58:01i turned to callum let's go
00:58:13on the walk back he said you don't have to protect me from his connections i'm not worried i know
00:58:20i looked at the sidewalk i just don't want you getting pulled in history any more than you already
00:58:24have i owe you too much to add that he stopped walking jade i'm pursuing you that's voluntary
00:58:35the debt thing stop i kept walking and for the record he added falling back into step i'm planning
00:58:45to win that bet so you should probably start thinking about what you owe me back at his apartment
00:58:51he started dinner he'd done this every night for months now cooked cleaned up checked on her and never
00:58:56once made it feel like obligation he was the second person in my life who'd been genuinely good to me
00:59:01and unlike the first he had no history of eventual catastrophe he was also 36 he'd want his own life
00:59:07eventually callum once i find a job i'm going to move out i'll pay back everything all of it
00:59:15he stopped rinsing vegetables you want to move out
00:59:23it's been long enough you've done more than enough he had his back to me a moment passed
00:59:33it came out even i couldn't tell what it meant
00:59:40the next day i got a call from the competition organizers
00:59:48congratulations miss grayson you've been selected for the finals i sat down
00:59:54eight points out of a field half my age but i knew exactly how i'd made the finals
00:59:59and it wasn't the eights tell whoever arranged this that i appreciate it and that i'm not coming
01:00:07the organizer sounded genuinely baffled miss grayson this is a direct pathway into
01:00:13the city's premier dance company i know what it is i kept my voice even thank the investor for me
01:00:23tell him i said no i hung up
01:00:31miles was waiting a mating outside my building that afternoon you turned down the finals
01:00:37i turned down charity he fell into step beside me i kept walking jade i know what you want i
01:00:46know how
01:00:46much you love this let me do this one thing what you know is that i wanted it at 19.
01:00:52you don't know
01:00:53anything about what i want now he followed me for two blocks i finally stopped miles i'm asking you
01:01:01leave me alone i have a life now a real one for the first time in a very long time
01:01:08i wake up and it
01:01:09doesn't hurt to be alive please don't take that from me by showing up in it he went quiet
01:01:19i can't give back what was taken from you he said finally i know that
01:01:24but i can give you the one thing you always wanted and i'm asking you to let me
01:01:27what i always wanted was for the person i trusted most not to put a knife in my hand and
01:01:32walk away
01:01:34he had no answer for that callum appeared at the end of the block
01:01:42miles tracked the way my posture changed when i saw him the way i moved toward him without thinking
01:01:49you won't be happy with him he can't offer you security stability he offered me my life back
01:01:57when no one else did callum reached us he looked at miles then me
01:02:06ready
01:02:12yes miles stepped forward i'll give you everything i have if you come back
01:02:17callum stopped him calm flat a wall she said she's ready to go that's the end of it
01:02:27miles grabbed callum's collar it escalated quickly second time in a week same police station same
01:02:35officer who looked at us like he was reconsidering his career
01:02:41outside the station same bench i cleaned up callum's face again then fiona's car fiona seeing me the same
01:02:50shock gone flat replaced by threat the man fiona had hired the one who'd arranged the truck
01:02:59whose people had arranged the prison found her in a parking lot three days later
01:03:05i was there he wanted more money she said his people had been paid what they were worth it got
01:03:12loud
01:03:13fiona pointed at me and said she's the one you want he knew that wasn't true he said so at
01:03:20length about
01:03:21what fiona had commissioned and what she paid for it miles had arrived by then he heard everything
01:03:30he wrote a check with a lot of zeros on it and handed it over the man took it and
01:03:37left fiona started crying
01:03:42i was jealous she said i was so jealous of her of everything between you two i couldn't think
01:03:50straight you had people in that prison for ten years she survived she's right there she's fine
01:04:00if she hadn't he stopped
01:04:04he seemed to be doing math on something terrible get in the car
01:04:14i heard later what he did the same methods the same cold water the same strap the same footage
01:04:23replayed moment by moment i heard he cried through most of it i didn't feel what i expected to feel
01:04:30fiona got what she gave but my back still carried what it carried the math didn't balance
01:04:38i told kalish i didn't care he believed me he knew me well enough by then to know the difference
01:04:47between
01:04:47not caring and being past the point where caring costs anything i was leaving the dance studio one
01:04:56evening when miles appeared outside he looked like he hadn't slept in a week he was smoking which i'd never
01:05:06seen him do before can we talk we don't have anything to talk about
01:05:20he smoked for a moment if i went to prison would that change anything
01:05:29i looked at him for what it's worth i'm not asking so you'll take me back i know that's done
01:05:37i just i need to know if there's some version of this where you're not carrying all of it alone
01:05:42he sounded like he meant it
01:05:48i thought about the boy who'd worked three jobs and coughed blood and still saved up enough to buy me
01:05:55ballet flats i thought about how i'd loved that boy i thought about the man who'd handed me the knife
01:06:03serve the time and then we're square not for my sake because it's what you owe he nodded like that
01:06:12was
01:06:12exactly what he needed to hear i'm sorry jade he looked at me the way you look at something you
01:06:24understand you've permanently lost i know i don't get another chance i just want you to know i'm aware
01:06:31of exactly what i threw away i walked away two steps out i stopped
01:06:38i'm getting married callum we're not inviting you
01:06:45congratulations that was the last time we spoke
01:06:5110 days later my account received a wire transfer the equivalent of everything more than everything
01:06:58his company liquidated his assets converted he'd kept a single small apartment for himself
01:07:04i didn't ask why i didn't send it back
01:07:12we got married abroad small ceremony no guest list to speak of the day we got back a headline was
01:07:20trending ceo miles wells convicted of assault former wife fiona hart charged with conspiracy
01:07:27solicitation and multiple counts of fraud fiona had apparently had a breakdown during arraignment
01:07:33she was remanded for psychiatric evaluation miles received five years callum showed me the headline over coffee
01:07:43and then removed the phone from my hand
01:07:48not today
01:07:51i'm fine
01:07:54i know you are but not today
01:07:57i looked at him for a moment then i let it go we had a life to build and i
01:08:04was for the first time
01:08:06in a very long time genuinely interested in building it i went back to the dance studio not
01:08:12as a student not as a patient in recovery but as an instructor then eight months later an audition came
01:08:20up for the city company the real one i went alone told calium it was a work thing he found
01:08:26out three days
01:08:27later when i came home with the contract
01:08:32you're insufferable
01:08:35i learned from the best he kissed me before i could dodge it and i let him and we stood
01:08:41in our kitchen in the
01:08:42late afternoon light and i thought i made it i actually made it
01:08:51miles served five years he didn't try to contact me during any of them he honored the distance the
01:08:58night he was released i was performing center stage the lead he bought a ticket under a different name
01:09:05and sat in the back row i didn't know until later when the curtain came down the theater was still
01:09:11going my company members were taking photos accepting flowers and i'd made my way to the lobby
01:09:18when something small and determined collided with my knees she was maybe four dark eyes very serious face
01:09:24enormous sense of her own importance she said gravely sorry i didn't see you i crouched down
01:09:32that's okay where's your mom looking for me she pointed across the lobby she does that a lot a man
01:09:39came around a pillar and stopped it was miles he was thin not the way he used to be the
01:09:45lean deliberate
01:09:45fitness of someone wealthy and well caped this was something else he saw me at the same moment we looked
01:09:51at each other jade i stood slowly miles i didn't know you'd be here he said it like he wanted
01:10:00to be
01:10:00believed it's my show he almost smiled right the little girl tugged my sleeve do you know my uncle
01:10:08miles i looked down at her then at him he gave me the smallest apologetic shrug his sister's youngest
01:10:16apparently he'd become her emergency contact while her parents traveled a little he cries at your video
01:10:24sometimes she confided when he thinks i'm asleep miles looked like he wanted to dissolve into the
01:10:30floor i straightened up nice to see you i said and meant none of it and also meant all of
01:10:36it the way
01:10:37you mean things about people who shaped you into what you are before they destroyed what they'd built
01:10:43you look well i am well we stood there for another moment i should find her parents he said nodding
01:10:49at the
01:10:50girl good luck he nodded turned to go miles he turned back i thought about what i wanted to say
01:11:07all of it
01:11:08and then i thought about callum in the green room waiting for me with terrible coffee and genuine delight
01:11:13at my existence and i thought about the daughter we were discussing adopting and i thought about the
01:11:19life i'd built out of the wreckage of the one he'd handed me i hope you build something for real
01:11:24this
01:11:24time he was quiet for a moment thank you he walked away i went back to callan who handed me
01:11:34the terrible
01:11:35coffee and said that took forever did something happen no nothing happened he looked at me for a beat
01:11:42longer than necessary then he decided to believe me or decided it didn't matter and slipped his hand
01:11:49into mine we walked out into the night together the rest happened in pieces quietly the way good things
01:11:57tend to fiona was released from the psychiatric facility two years later facing trial she hired a very
01:12:05expensive lawyer the lawyer couldn't do much with recordings miles sold everything and gave most of it away
01:12:16he took a research position at a teaching hospital
01:12:22he sent no letters
01:12:25i got the call about the money months after he'd left the country
01:12:28a wire transfer anonymous i knew the source i let it sit in an account for a year
01:12:38then i donated it to a foundation for women released from incarceration with no support network
01:12:44it seemed right
01:12:47calum and i finized the adoption paperwork on a rainy tuesday
01:12:51our daughter was three extremely loud and had very firm opinions about which shoes she wore
01:12:58she also had a natural instinct for music which i may have encouraged
01:13:04the first time i brought her to the studio she stood at the bar and positioned her feet with great
01:13:09seriousness
01:13:12like this
01:13:14exactly like that
01:13:15she beamed i watched her in the mirror this small determined person with her whole life in front of her
01:13:24and i thought about the girl i'd been at her age
01:13:28standing at a different bear in a different life
01:13:32before everything broke
01:13:34the thing about broken things is that sometimes the breaking is the whole point
01:13:39you don't come out the same shape you come out a different shape entirely
01:13:48and you build around it
01:13:52i had built around it
01:13:56i had a husband who thought i was worth showing up for every single day without keeping score
01:14:02i had a daughter who informed me with great authority that i was the best dancer she had ever seen
01:14:07and that the second best was a cartoon reindeer and that this was a compliment i had a life
01:14:12not the one i'd planned not the one i'd lost something else entirely
01:14:19something i'd made with my own hands out of what was left
01:14:23that's more than most people get
01:14:27that was enough
01:14:29you
01:14:30you
01:14:31you
01:14:33you