Chapter 11 - The Women Who Didn't Have Thomas Bennett
After the trials, letters began arriving.
Women who had seen the case in the news.
Some were wealthy.
Most weren't.
Different details.
Same language.
He controls the accounts.
He says I'm unstable.
His family says marriage is private.
I'm afraid nobody will believe me.
One letter said:
I wish I had a father like yours.
I read it three times.
Then cried.
Because she was right.
I had resources many people didn't.
So Dad and I created the Open Door Project.
Legal support.
Emergency housing.
Financial counseling.
Evidence preservation.
No requirement that someone be perfect.
No requirement that she already be ready to leave.
Just a door.
Unlocked.
The name came from Dad's sentence.
Sometimes love means leaving a door unlocked.
The first year, we helped seventy-three people.
May you like
By the third, more than four hundred.
The birthday I once wanted to forget became the anniversary of the project.
