Chapter 8 - MICHAEL'S REAL FEAR
Michael finally explained why he supported Green Valley.
His father had died after years of severe untreated mental illness.
Michael was thirteen when it became dangerous.
He remembered:
broken furniture,
police calls,
nights sleeping at neighbors’ houses.
He had spent his adult life terrified that instability could “start small.”
Emma’s tantrums scared him.
Not logically.
Emotionally.
Linda knew that.
She used it.
Every time Emma cried too long, Linda said:
“Your father started like this.”
Every time Emma resisted routines:
“You know where this goes.”
Michael began seeing inherited catastrophe in ordinary six-year-old behavior.
Rachel listened.
Then said:
“You were afraid.”
“Yes.”
“And instead of getting her evaluated, you built a case against her.”
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Michael’s face fell.
That was exactly what he had done.
