CHAPTER 8: THE AFTERMATH
CHAPTER 8: THE AFTERMATH
The collapse was swift.
By the end of the month, Holloway Select Markets was bankrupt. The stores were shuttered, the employees were laid off, and the brand disappeared from the Midwest.
Grant and Margaret lost everything. Their house, their cars, their investments, their reputation.
Grant was arrested for fraud when the investigation revealed that the money had been moved to offshore accounts in his name. His mother was arrested as an accessory. They were tried and convicted, and the media had a field day.
But I wasn't interested in the media.
I was interested in my daughter.
Hannah moved into a small but beautiful house in Chicago. She went to therapy. She started working at the diner, learning the business I'd built from nothing.
Madeline thrived. She grew up loved, protected, and free.
One evening, Hannah and I sat on the back porch of her new house, watching the sunset.
"Mom," she said. "I've been thinking."
"About what?"
"About how you saved me."
"I didn't save you. You saved yourself. I just gave you a push."
"No. You gave me everything. You gave me a chance to be free. To be happy. To be myself."
I smiled.
"That's what mothers do."
Hannah reached over and took my hand.
"I want to be like you," she said. "Strong. Powerful. Unbreakable."
"You are. You just haven't realized it yet."
She laughed.
"Maybe you can teach me."
"I'd be happy to."
May you like
We sat in silence, watching the sun disappear over the horizon.
And for the first time in years, we were at peace.
