Chapter 12 - Was Vivienne imprisoned?
No.
That distinction mattered.
North Vale was not a prison.
Vivienne was a patient.
During early recovery she lacked capacity for complex decisions.
Later, she regained it gradually.
Records showed:
She was free to walk grounds.
Participate in therapy.
Use supervised phone access.
Eventually leave with approved transport.
So why remain?
Because Eleanor told her:
Her husband’s world was under criminal investigation.
People had already attacked her.
Rosie could be targeted.
Rafael—me—was likely being watched.
Contact could expose everyone.
Parts of that were plausible.
Then Eleanor gave her articles.
Some real.
Some selectively chosen.
Reports about organized-crime violence associated with the Moretti—sorry, Graves name. Need consistency: Graves.
Better: Graves-associated investigations.
Photographs of men around my properties.
News stories about arrests involving distant relatives.
Vivienne had always distrusted the criminal side of my life.
May you like
Eleanor exploited that.
By the time Vivienne was mentally strong enough to decide, fear had become its own confinement.
