Chapter 22 - Diane’s House
Diane bought a small brick home in Evanston.
Two bedrooms.
Garden.
No gates.
She planted tomatoes badly.
Noah destroyed three.
Ellie named one plant Susan.
Diane’s nonprofit office occupied converted garage.
Boxes everywhere.
She hired formerly incarcerated paralegal named Marisol and forensic accountant Greg.
They worked quietly.
No speeches.
One afternoon Diane showed me a framed photograph.
Her old Mercer Medical employee badge.
“Why frame that?”
“To remind myself I had a life before prison.”
“Not conviction certificate?”
“No.”
“Why badge?”
“Because they tried to make my work the crime.”
I understood.
Mercer Holdings had once tried to distance itself from Diane.
Now our independent ethics office invited her to speak privately to auditors.
Not motivational.
Case study.
She accepted once.
Then refused future.
“I’m not becoming your cautionary mascot.”
Fair.
We paid her consulting fee.
No charity.
May you like
Professional work.
That boundary mattered.
