Garden of Shadows

Alternative Ending (Garden of Shadows, by V.C. Andrews)
Written by Donald Tate
My mind raced frantically until it reached John Amos. Yes, he could help me. He was my rock, my solace, my only other source of support, next to God, of course, who could assist me in helping me to come to a decision.
"Here is your chance to redeem yourself to God," he declared upon finishing reading Corinne's letter.
"How so, John?" I asked breathlessly.
He turned to face me, fixing his gaze on me firmly.
"Under your ignorance and refusal to see what was going on, despite my warnings to you at the time, you, along with Malcolm, must admit that to some degree, you allowed the sinful love and sexual acts that festered between Corinne and Christopher to grow until they crossed the line from which they could not return. You know this now, don't you?"
"Yes, I do," I replied sadly. As difficult as it was to hear, John Amos was exactly right. It was finally time to come to terms with that fact before I could do anything else.
"Well, now you have a chance of preventing it from happening a second time," John Amos said.
"What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? Surely, I would expect you to have some idea what I mean, Olivia." When I didn't respond, he continued on. "Corrine and Christopher, by way of their deplorable love and forbidden sexual activity, have produced four children who are just as much as corrupted and sinful as they are, thanks to the true relationship between their parents. When they grow up, they cannot be permitted to infect others in the world.
"So what do I do?" I was extremely curious at what solution John Amos was about to propose.
He turned away from me for a moment to stare out the window of the study as he spoke.
"You will write back to Corinne and let her know that you will permit her to return to Foxworth hall with the children. When they arrive, they are to be secluded in that room in the north wing, the same room where you kept Corinne's mother during her pregnancy...where they are to stay forever, shut away from the world, so that they do not contaminate others the way that their parents have done to them. If you want to be back in favor with God, then this is what should be done."
I thought about it for a moment. It wasn't an idea I would've considered, at least not on my own. In my mind, I was going back and forth with different perspectives.
On one hand, wasn't this really of Christopher and Corinne's making? They knew they were related by blood, but that hadn't been enough to embrace each other, skin to skin, and indulge and a sacred union that should've only been between an unrelated man, and unrelated wife.
As much as I did not want to become that cold, gray woman I had always feared becoming, I had to admit that I was already her, feeling that this was what God had wanted all along...perhaps I had been too blind to see that also.
But...what if it wasn't? In my heart of hearts, I wanted to be loving and caring, to have children once again to love as I had with Mal and Joel, and then, of course, Corinne and Christopher. Despite the fact that what they did was against the Lord, should that also mean their innocent children should have to suffer? Embracing God in my life during these long, difficult years had indeed been a blessing, and now I felt that my relationship with him was strong enough to permit doing what I really wanted to do, what I really thought was best, despite John's opinion and his impending disapproval.
"I appreciate your support and advice John," I finally replied, stepping forward until I was standing right next to him at the window, "but I don't feel that that's the right thing to do."
He sighed. "What have you decided instead, Olivia?"
"I do agree with one part of your plan...to allow Corinne to come here with the children. But as for the rest of it-"
"You won't lock them away, will you," he interruped, finishing my sentence for me.
"No, I won't," I said firmly and confidently. "God would never want me to punish innocent children for the sins of their parents, regardless of what they have done."
I turned away from John Amos and began heading towards the doorway.
I heard him turn around as I was halfway across the room. "What are you about to do now?"
I turned back around to face him.
"To write Corrine back, to let her know that she, and her children, are welcome in my home...forever and together so that they can rebuild their lives. I think that's what God would really want and I do not, nor will not regret my decsion."
I turned back around and headed to my bedroom to begin my letter to Corinne...and a new beginning in my life.