Not approval.
Not rejection.
Not victory.
Not defeat.
My part ended because it was supposed to.
Outside, Daniel handed me the final access notice.
“You are completely out.”
“Completely?”
“Yes.”
Vance said:
“You made the harder choice.”
“I made the clean choice.”
“You protected the review from both your father and yourself.”
“Please don’t praise me for that.”
He looked surprised.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want my decision turned into another family story.”
He considered that.