Chapter 12 - The Last Request-12
Four years after the trial.
A quiet winter snow was falling over Manhattan, covering the brownstones of Brooklyn in a soft, pristine blanket of white.
I sat in my home office, reviewing a new research grant proposal for Vanguard Pharmaceuticals, when my private line rang. It was Mr. Harrison, the senior public defender assigned to Arthur Vance’s state case.
“Ms. Vance,” Mr. Harrison said hesitantly. “I am calling to inform you that Arthur Vance has been transferred to the infirmary unit at the Fishkill Correctional Facility following a severe cardiac event.”
I remained silent, looking out at the snow falling outside my window. “Why are you calling me, Mr. Harrison?”
“Arthur has executed a formal legal request for a brief phone call with his son, Leo,” Harrison explained. “The medical staff believes he has less than forty-eight hours to live. As Leo’s legal representative and trust manager, the court requires your authorization before any communication can be facilitated.”
I took a slow, steady breath. I walked over to the window, watching the snowflakes dance in the soft glow of the streetlamps.
I didn't answer immediately. I walked into the living room where Leo was sitting near the fireplace, reading a structural engineering textbook.
“Leo,” I said gently, taking a seat beside him. “I just received a call from your father’s legal team.”
Leo set his book down, his expression turning serious. “Is he ill?”
“He is in the hospital unit at Fishkill,” I informed him truthfully. “He has requested a phone call with you before he passes away. The decision is entirely yours, Leo. You do not owe him anything, and no one will judge you if you say no.”
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Leo looked into the flickering flames of the fireplace for a long, quiet moment. He reached out and touched the small silver pocket watch his biological mother had given him when he was a child—an item I had personally recovered from the Upper East Side apartment before the eviction.
“Tell them I will take the call, Sarah,” Leo said quietly. “Not because I forgive what he did... but because I want him to know that I am okay, and that his choices no longer have the power to ruin my life.”
