CHAPTER 9: THE REUNION
A year after the trial, I organized a family reunion.
Not with the Whitmores.
With the family I had chosen.
My real father, Harold. My grandmother. Marcus. The friends who had stood by me.
We gathered at the lake house.
There was food. Music. Laughter.
I watched them from the porch, my heart full.
"Charlotte," Harold said, walking up beside me. "I never thought I'd see this."
"Neither did I."
"Are you happy?"
"More than I've ever been."
He put his arm around me.
"I'm proud of you, Charlotte."
"Thank you, Dad."
He smiled.
And for the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged.
To a real family.
To a real future.
To a real life.
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Everything had come full circle.
And I was finally home.
