CHAPTER 13: THE BEGINNING
The hearing was brief.
Melissa's case collapsed almost immediately. She'd been so arrogant, so sure of her own brilliance, that she'd left a trail of evidence a mile long. A whole team of lawyers couldn't save her.
Daniel was ordered to pay restitution to the trust. Ashley was ordered to sell the house she'd bought with stolen money.
And I walked out of the courthouse with everything I'd ever wanted.
Not just the money.
Not just the house.
But the truth.
Mary was waiting for me on the steps.
"Wanna go get some coffee?" she asked.
"Let's," I said.
We walked to the coffee shop, and I sat down and breathed deep.
"You look happy," Mary said.
"I am," I said. "I really am."
"Now what?"
"Now," I said, "I go home. I pour a glass of wine. And I wait for my grandchildren to call."
"Your grandchildren?"
"They're innocent," I said. "They didn't ask for this. And they deserve to know their grandmother."
Mary smiled. "That's the spirit."
May you like
I walked home.
And for the first time in years, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
