Diane's Testimony
Chapter 16 - Diane's Testimony
Walter's lawyers expected Diane to protect him.
She had done it for thirty-four years.
At the deposition, they reminded her that a conviction could destroy what remained of the Holloway name.
Diane looked at the attorney.
"The name survived because other people's names were destroyed."
Then she testified.
She admitted signing the statement used against Caroline.
She admitted knowing Walter had pressured employees.
She admitted that after I disappeared the night of Hawthorne Lake, Walter told her not to call police because "Lena needed time to calm down."
That sentence mattered.
It showed he knew I had been left there.
But the most important moment came when the attorney asked Diane why she had stayed silent for so long.
She answered, "Because silence was comfortable."
No tears.
No excuses.
Just truth.
Caroline sat beside me.
Her hand shook.
I covered it with mine.
Afterward, Diane approached us outside the courthouse.
Caroline stared at her mother for a long time.
Then she said, "I still don't forgive you."
Diane nodded.
"I know."
"But I'm proud of you today."
Diane began crying.
So did Caroline.
They did not hug.
Not then.
That made the moment feel more real.
Walter eventually accepted a plea agreement involving fraud-related charges and obstruction.
He avoided the longest possible sentence by cooperating with the broader financial investigation.
Some people online called it too lenient.
Maybe it was.
Justice rarely arrives in the exact shape grief wants.
But he lost control of the company.
He lost the mansion.
He lost the power to silence people with a phone call.
And, most importantly, the official Rivergate finding was amended.
My father was cleared.
When the letter arrived, I took it to his grave.
I sat in the grass and read every word aloud.
Then I told him something I had never understood as a child.
"You weren't a failure, Dad."
May you like
The wind moved through the trees.
For once, I did not need an answer.
