Chapter 10 - The Peaceful Beginning
A year had passed since the terrifying night of the forest fire and the violent arrests.
The trial had been swift and completely unforgiving for the people who tried to destroy my life.
My stepmother was sentenced to life in a maximum-security prison without the possibility of parole.
My father received twenty years for assaulting an officer and aiding in the attempted murder.
Mark miraculously survived his injuries and served a short sentence for his initial involvement, though I never spoke to him again.
I had gained full, uncontested control of my late mother's massive trust fund.
I used the money to buy a beautiful, secure home in a quiet neighborhood far away from that cursed town.
The sun was shining brightly as I sat on my new porch, watching my healthy one-year-old baby play on a blanket.
The traumatic memories had finally begun to fade, replaced by a profound sense of peace and true happiness.
I had proven that a mother's love was stronger than any weapon they could ever use against me.
I picked up my laughing child and walked inside our beautiful, warm home to prepare lunch.
Everything was exactly as it should be, perfectly safe and wonderfully quiet.
Later that afternoon, I sat on the living room floor, opening a box of old mail that had been forwarded from my previous address.
At the very bottom of the cardboard box, I found a thick, unmarked black envelope with no return address.
May you like
I sliced it open with a letter opener, pulling out a single, typed piece of white paper.
The chilling note simply read, "You really thought your stepmother was the one paying my salary?"
