CHAPTER 13: THE FALL
Karen was sentenced to fifteen years.
Richard got ten.
The company was saved. Daniel's position was secure. And I was finally free.
"I don't know how to thank you," I told Daniel.
"You don't have to. You saved me too."
We were sitting in his office, the one he'd almost lost.
"I didn't save you. I just helped you save yourself."
"Sarah, you gave me hope. When I was ready to give up, you showed me there was another way."
I didn't know what to say to that.
So I said nothing.
Daniel reached across the table and took my hand.
"Stay," he said. "Not because you have to. But because you want to."
I thought about it.
Three years on the run. Three years of fear and exhaustion and fighting.
And now, here, I was safe.
My children were safe.
"I can't promise I'll be good at this," I said. "Being a wife. Being part of your world."
"I don't want a wife," Daniel said. "I want a partner. A friend. Someone who sees me for who I really am."
"Who is that?"
"I'm the man who stopped on a desert highway to help a stranger. Because she looked like she needed saving."
"And did she?"
He smiled. "No. She saved herself. I just gave her a ride."
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I laughed.
And for the first time, I believed I could be happy.
