Chapter 20 - The Name I Chose
I stepped up to the bathroom mirror, buttoning the cuffs of my clean white shirt.
I looked at my reflection—at my clear eyes, my calm posture, and the faint, barely visible scar near my hairline where the glass had cut me on Bennett Street.
The scar didn't remind me of terror anymore.
It reminded me that I had survived the fire, broken through the glass, and walked out into the light on my own terms.
I picked up my new driver’s license resting on the counter.
The name printed across the top in crisp black letters no longer read Caitlyn Monroe.
It read Caitlyn Hope Vance—a name I had chosen for myself, legally registered in the state of Illinois, free of Bennett Street, free of fake grace, and free of the women who had tried to erase me.
I picked up my handbag, walked to the front entrance of my apartment, and opened the door.
May you like
I turned the lock from the inside—a smooth, clean, heavy click that resonated through the quiet hallway.
I stepped out into the sunlit morning, taking a long, deep breath of fresh air, ready to live the rest of my life.
