Chapter 10 - A New Dawn
One Year Later.
The summer sun was shining brightly over my backyard. The smell of barbecue filled the air.
I was sitting on the patio, sipping iced tea and watching Lily. She was sixteen now, laughing hysterically as she played a game of fetch with a golden retriever puppy we had adopted from the shelter.
The estate had been completely recovered. David’s life insurance, the house, and the trust fund were all safely secured in Lily’s name, locked behind legal trusts that no one could touch until she turned twenty-five. I had officially been granted full, permanent legal guardianship.
Detective Vance stopped by, dressed in civilian clothes, carrying a plate of ribs. He had become a good friend to our family over the past year.
“She looks great, Evelyn,” Marcus said, watching Lily run across the grass.
“She is great,” I smiled. “She made the honor roll this semester. And she wants to study pre-law when she goes to college.”
“Taking after her Nana,” he chuckled.
“Someone has to keep the bad guys in check,” I replied, taking a sip of my tea.
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Somewhere, two thousand miles away, Jessica was waking up in a concrete cell, wearing cheap orange fabric, stripped of her name, her money, and her freedom. She had tried to bury my family to build her own paradise.
Instead, she had dug her own grave, and my beautiful granddaughter was walking freely, and happily, right over it.
