I decided to stay.
Not because I was brave or because I'm healed.
But running won't save me, and Tony was right about that.
The trauma follows, the guilt follows, and location doesn't fix broken things.
So I'm staying, and I'm facing it.
All of it.
Three days after The Shadow's call, I'm sitting in Dr. Nina Cole's office.
A therapist specializing in PTSD and trauma. The FBI recommended her. Said she's worked with agents, soldiers, and survivors... people like me.
"Tell me why you're here," she says.
She's an older woman with kind eyes and a patient posture.
"I failed seventeen people. They're dead because of me."
"Tell me about that. What happened?"
I explained. The consulting firm, the clients, Diane's attack, the leaked list, the bounties, and the deaths.
All of it.
Dr. Cole listens. She took notes and didn't interrupt.
When I finished, she asked. "Tell me about survivor's guilt. What does that mean to you?"
