Brooke divorced him.
Then she learned that she was personally responsible for thousands of dollars investigators had traced to the stolen funds.
I sold the house.
Not because Darren had ruined it.
Because Mom deserved somewhere without ghosts.
We bought a smaller home near the ocean.
Wide windows.
A little garden.
And no marble floors for her to scrub.
One evening, we sat together on the porch watching the sun sink toward the water.
Mom rested her head against the chair.
“I’m sorry I didn’t know you,” she said.
I took her hand.
“You knew me before they made you forget.”
She leaned against my shoulder.
Inside the house, my phone buzzed.
Elena had sent confirmation that the final restitution order was complete.
I turned the phone facedown.
The sun was disappearing into the ocean.
For the first time in years, nobody was asking me to save them.
