Chapter 18
Ryan was released when Lily was twelve.
I received notice three months before.
My hands shook for an hour.
Then I remembered the orders.
No contact.
No approach.
No messages through family.
GPS monitoring.
Lily listened quietly when I told her.
“Can he come here?”
“No.”
“What if he tries?”
“We call police.”
She nodded.
“Are you scared?”
I answered honestly.
“A little.”
She took my hand.
“Me too. But not like before.”
“No,” I said. “Not like before.”
Ryan violated the order within six weeks.
He sent a birthday card through a cousin.
The cousin claimed she did not know.
The judge did not care.
Ryan went back to jail for the violation.
Lily asked to see the card.
I let her choose.
Inside, Ryan had written:
I hope one day you know I loved you.
Lily stared at it.
Then she took a pen and wrote beneath it:
Love protects.
She handed it back.
May you like
“Send it to the judge.”
Grace did.
