Chapter 16
Diane appealed.
She lost.
Ryan appealed.
He lost too.
Their names became warnings in court training materials.
Nora called it “case law with consequences.”
Laura called it “finally useful.”
I called it justice with paperwork.
My civil settlement came two years after the kitchen.
Most of the stolen money was returned.
Not all.
Enough.
I used some for medical debt.
Some for savings.
Some for Second Stand.
Dad objected only once.
“You need security too.”
“I have it.”
“Money security.”
I smiled.
“You sound like Nora.”
“Terrifying.”
He was right, though.
So I kept enough to protect myself.
That mattered.
Laura won her reopened claim.
When the check arrived, she stared at it for ten minutes.
Then she said, “This is not my leg back. Not my years back.”
“No.”
“But it is mine.”
“Yes.”
She cried.
We all did.
Melissa cleared her debt.
Karen bought a car.
Paige got divorced.
Second Stand grew.
So did we.
May you like
Not healed perfectly.
But no longer kneeling on someone else’s kitchen floor.
