Chapter 16
The next few weeks were peaceful.
Quiet.
Healing.
Bethany was in prison.
My father was in jail, awaiting trial.
My mother... she had disappeared.
She hadn't called.
Hadn't written.
Hadn't tried to contact us.
And we were grateful.
We didn't need her.
We didn't need any of them.
We had each other.
Rosie continued to improve.
She was happier now.
More confident.
She no longer woke up screaming from nightmares.
She no longer flinched when someone reached for her.
She was becoming the little girl she was meant to be.
Bright.
Laughing.
Full of life.
Sarah and I... we were falling in love all over again.
We talked.
Really talked.
About what had gone wrong in our marriage.
About the mistakes we had both made.
About how we could do better.
We decided to try again.
Not as husband and wife.
Not yet.
But as partners.
As a family.
We took things slow.
We went on dates.
Simple things.
Coffee in the morning.
Walks in the park.
Dinner after Rosie went to bed.
We laughed.
We cried.
We healed.
Together.
My father's trial came a month later.
David testified against him.
Told everything.
About the money.
About the threats.
About the fire.
The evidence was overwhelming.
The jury deliberated for three hours.
They found him guilty on all counts.
Conspiracy to commit arson.
Witness intimidation.
Attempted assault.
He was sentenced to twelve years in prison.
With no chance of parole for eight years.
He would be seventy when he got out.
If he got out.
We didn't go to the sentencing.
We didn't need to.
We had already won.
Emily divorced David.
She moved to another state.
To start over.
We kept in touch.
We sent her Christmas cards.
Birthday cards.
Rosie drew pictures for her.
Emily was part of our family now.
The family we had chosen.
Not the one we had been born into.
Life was good.
Peaceful.
But there was still one thing missing.
One loose end.
My mother.
She had been quiet for months.
Too quiet.
And I knew.
Sooner or later, she would surface.
She would want to explain.
To justify.
May you like
To try to weasel her way back into our lives.
And I needed to be ready.
