Chapter 9 - The Aftermath in the Dark
It was past 2:00 AM by the time I returned home.
Sarah was asleep on my couch, a cozy blanket pulled over her legs. When the front door clicked shut, she bolted upright, blinking against the kitchen light.
“Lauren?” she whispered, getting to her feet. “What happened? Did they find them?”
“They’re in jail, Sarah,” I said, sinking onto the nearest dining room chair, completely numb. “Olivia, Carter, and Shawn.”
Sarah’s eyes went wide. “Shawn? Shawn got arrested?”
“He forged my signature on fraudulent loans,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “He’s been helping Olivia steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from Anthony’s family firm.”
Sarah covered her mouth with both hands. “Oh, my God, Lauren… Maya…”
“Maya is asleep upstairs,” I said, rubbing my temples. “And she is going to wake up in a house that is finally free of lies.”
Sarah stayed with me until dawn, brewing fresh coffee and sitting with me at the kitchen table as the sun slowly broke through the clouds, painting the sky in pale shades of orange and pink.
At 7:00 AM, little footsteps padded down the wooden stairs.
Maya appeared in the kitchen doorway, clutching her stuffed rabbit. She looked around the kitchen, her eyes immediately scanning the empty space where her father usually sat reading the morning news.
“Mommy?” she asked softly.
I stood up, walked over, and knelt down in front of her. I wrapped my arms around her warm, small body and held her close.
“Hey, birthday girl,” I said gently.
“Where is Daddy?”
I took a deep breath. “Daddy is dealing with some very serious trouble with the police, Maya. He made some very bad choices to help Aunt Olivia do bad things. He won’t be home for a while.”
Maya looked down at her slippers. A single tear slipped down her cheek. “Is it because of what happened with the cake?”
“No, sweetheart,” I said, lifting her chin so she had to look directly into my eyes. “The cake was just the moment everyone stopped pretending. You did nothing wrong. You are the bravest girl I know.”
May you like
She leaned into my neck and cried quietly for five minutes. I held her through every tear, promising her with every beat of my heart that our lives were going to get better.
***
