Chapter 18
Justice did not feel like fireworks.
It felt like sleeping through the night.
It felt like Luke leaving his backpack by the door without checking the lock twice.
It felt like my phone ringing and my heart not jumping into my throat.
Milena was sentenced to prison and ordered to repay the money she had stolen from the trust.
The judge also granted a permanent protective order for me and Luke.
Angelo did not celebrate either.
He came to my apartment after sentencing and stood in the doorway with tired eyes.
“It is done,” he said.
“Legally,” I answered.
He nodded.
“Yes. Legally.”
Luke was building the model Alfa on the table.
He looked up.
“Are you sad?”
Angelo took a breath.
“Yes.”
Luke considered that.
“Because she’s your mom?”
“Yes.”
“But she did bad things.”
“She did.”
Luke snapped a tiny wheel into place.
“Both can be true.”
Angelo looked at me.
I smiled faintly.
“He’s smarter than both of us.”
“That is becoming clear,” Angelo said.
Luke grinned.
That grin changed the room.
A month later, Angelo asked if he could take Luke to a baseball game.
I went too.
At first.
I sat between them with a soft pretzel and a thousand fears.
By the seventh inning, Luke was explaining the rules to Angelo like Angelo had not played in college.
Angelo listened with absolute seriousness.
On the drive home, Luke fell asleep in the back seat wearing Angelo’s jacket.
I looked at him in the mirror.
Then I looked at Angelo.
“I am still angry,” I said.
“I know.”
“But I am less afraid.”
His hands tightened on the wheel.
“That is more than I deserve.”
“Yes,” I said.
May you like
He nodded.
For some reason, that made me trust him more.
