Chapter 13
The call came from the DA's office.
They had received an anonymous tip.
And security camera footage.
From a neighbor's house across the street.
The footage showed a man.
Setting fire to our porch.
And while the footage was grainy...
The man's face was clear enough.
It was my cousin.
David.
Emily's husband.
The police arrested him that afternoon.
And when they questioned him...
He cracked.
He told them everything.
About the threats.
About the pebbles on the window.
About the fire.
And who had ordered it all.
My father.
My father had paid David.
Paid him to scare us.
To threaten us.
To make us drop the charges.
And when that hadn't worked...
He had ordered the fire.
To send a message.
My father was arrested that night.
Charged with conspiracy to commit arson.
Witness intimidation.
And a list of other charges.
My mother was beside herself.
She called us, screaming.
Threatening.
But we didn't care.
The dominoes were falling.
And they were falling hard.
Emily came forward officially.
She gave her statement to the police.
She provided the video.
And she testified against David.
Against my father.
Against Bethany.
David, in exchange for a lighter sentence, agreed to testify against my father.
To tell everything he knew.
About the threats.
About the money.
About the plan to scare us into dropping the charges.
The prosecution now had a mountain of evidence.
Photos.
Medical reports.
Rosie's statement.
Emily's testimony.
The video.
David's testimony.
The arson.
The witness intimidation.
Bethany's defense was crumbling.
Her lawyer tried to get the video thrown out.
The judge denied it.
He said it was critical evidence.
He also increased Bethany's bail.
And ordered her to wear an ankle monitor.
No contact with anyone in the family.
No contact with us.
She was trapped.
And she knew it.
A week before the trial was supposed to start...
Bethany's lawyer contacted Karen.
They wanted to make a deal.
A plea bargain.
Sarah and I met with Karen in her office.
"What are they offering?" Sarah asked.
Karen laid out the terms.
Bethany would plead guilty to assault on a minor.
A reduced charge.
She would serve two years in prison.
Five years probation.
No contact with Rosie ever again.
She would have to complete anger management classes.
And she would have a permanent criminal record.
"That's it?" I said. "Two years? For what she did to my daughter?"
Karen nodded.
"I know it's not enough," she said. "But it's a guaranteed conviction. No trial. No risk. And she'll be a convicted felon. That follows her forever. She'll never be able to work with children. She'll have trouble finding any job. She'll lose her apartment. Her friends. Everything."
She looked at us.
"And Rosie won't have to testify. She won't have to relive what happened in front of a courtroom full of strangers."
Sarah and I looked at each other.
That was the key.
Rosie.
We didn't want her to have to go through a trial.
To have to face Bethany in court.
To have to tell her story over and over again.
We wanted this to be over.
For her.
For all of us.
"What about my father?" I asked.
"He's facing separate charges," Karen said. "The arson. The witness intimidation. Those are much more serious. He could get ten years or more. David is cooperating, so he'll probably get probation. But your father... he's going away for a long time."
I thought about it.
I thought about Bethany in prison.
For two years.
It wasn't enough.
But it was something.
And it was guaranteed.
I looked at Sarah.
May you like
She nodded.
"We'll take it," I said.
