Chapter 11 - BROOKE LEAVES
Brooke stayed with Ryan through the first week.
Then the board removal happened.
Then criminal plea negotiations.
Then sponsors began distancing themselves from her documentary work.
She blamed Ryan.
Ryan blamed Franklin.
Their relationship cracked.
Brooke finally admitted something in therapy that later reached Franklin only because she chose to say it directly.
“I liked being next to someone everyone was afraid to contradict.”
Franklin said nothing.
Brooke continued:
“At the restaurant, I laughed because I knew nobody would challenge us.”
That was more honest than:
I got carried away.
Then she said:
“When he said ‘Dad,’ I wasn’t horrified because the old man became important.”
Franklin looked at her.
“I was horrified because I realized I had laughed before knowing whether he was important.”
That mattered.
Brooke ended the relationship.
Not redemption.
Self-preservation mixed with shame.
Then she withdrew the documentary from award submissions.
No legal requirement.
She also published a correction to partner nonprofits showing actual program spending.
Useful.
Still late.
Ryan accused her of abandoning him when his status disappeared.
Brooke answered:
“Maybe. Or maybe status was most of what we had.”
Franklin heard that later from Ryan.
May you like
He did not comfort him.
Some truths have to hurt cleanly.
