Chapter 8: The Ghost of the Past
It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon during Lily’s junior year. She was running errands in a less affluent part of the city for the legal clinic. Pulling her hood up to shield herself from the drizzle, she rushed past a rundown laundromat. Through the foggy glass, she saw a woman violently scrubbing the floor, looking exhausted and broken.
Lily stopped dead in her tracks. Despite the hollowed cheeks, the lack of makeup, and the dull, unkempt hair, Lily recognized her instantly. It was Vanessa. The woman who had tried to destroy her life was now scrubbing dirt off linoleum for minimum wage. A storm of conflicting emotions—anger, vindication, and a strange, quiet pity—swirled in Lily's chest.
