Chapter 11 - Marissa Was a Victim and Still Responsible
Marissa’s lawyer wanted everyone to understand Gloria manipulated her.
That was true.
It was not the whole truth.
Marissa had directed her three-year-old daughter into a sleeping man’s bedroom to manufacture a confrontation.
She knew it was dishonest.
She did not know Gloria intended to turn on her.
But she knew I was being set up.
CPS did not allow manipulation to erase parental responsibility.
Neither did Marissa eventually.
In her parenting evaluation, she said:
“My mother lied to me. But I still made the decision.”
That sentence mattered.
She entered counseling focused on boundaries, dependency, and decision-making under pressure.
For a period, Erin supervised some transitions involving Sophie.
Gloria had no unsupervised contact while the guardianship and CPS matters were pending.
Marissa got a new job cleaning rooms at a downtown hotel.
Lower pay initially.
No free housing.
She moved into a small two-bedroom apartment with direct rental assistance from a local housing program.
Rebecca asked whether I still wanted to provide the severance package I had originally offered.
I struggled with that.
“She tried to frame me.”
“Yes.”
“She put her child in the middle.”
“Yes.”
“Why should I still pay?”
“You shouldn’t if you don’t want to.”
That irritated me more.
I wanted someone to tell me the morally perfect answer.
There wasn’t one.
Eventually I agreed to honor only the transition assistance I had already promised before the incident.
Not a settlement.
Not hush money.
Rent paid directly for six months.
Documented through attorneys.
Why?
Because Gloria’s manipulation worked by convincing Marissa that stability depended on betrayal.
I did not want my response to prove Gloria’s worldview correct.
That did not mean forgiveness.
Marissa would never work for me again.
We would never return to what we had.
Consequences did not have to include every possible hardship simply because I had the power to impose them.
When Marissa heard about the rent assistance, she asked if she could send me a letter.
May you like
I said no.
Not yet.
