Chapter 7
Ryan was arrested two days later.
Fraud.
Identity theft.
Conspiracy.
The assault case still centered on Diane, but Ryan’s money trail brought him down faster than guilt ever would.
When I saw his mugshot, I felt nothing at first.
Then grief hit.
I had loved that face.
I had kissed it.
I had believed it when it told me I was safe.
Laura sat beside me on Dad’s porch.
“The first time is strange,” she said.
“What?”
“Seeing the person who hurt you look small.”
I nodded.
“Does it help?”
“Sometimes. Not enough.”
We sat in silence.
Then Laura told me the rest.
After Diane injured her, Ryan begged her not to report.
Diane claimed Laura attacked first.
Ryan’s cousin, a local officer, made the first report disappear.
Laura fled.
Diane filed papers claiming Laura was mentally unstable.
Ryan received control of her settlement during recovery.
By the time Laura could fight, the money was gone.
“I thought he loved me,” she said.
“So did I.”
She looked at me.
“That’s how they get two women. We both thought we were the exception.”
My throat tightened.
“What are we now?”
Laura smiled sadly.
“Evidence.”
I laughed through tears.
Then Dad came outside with coffee.
May you like
“No,” he said firmly. “You are not evidence. You are women they failed to silence.”
That was the first sentence that made me feel like I might stand again, even with a broken leg.
