Chapter 10 - The Fire Goes Out
The courthouse hallway was quiet by the time I walked out. The snow was falling heavier now, blanketing Rapid City in a thick, peaceful white. My phone buzzed continuously in my pocket—missed calls from Mom, frantic texts from Kevin, and a notification from Marcus Vance confirming that federal investigators had already requested copies of the case files.
I didn't answer any of them.
When I drove back home, the air felt lighter than it had in months. The tension that had gripped my chest since the birthday party was gone, burned away just like the synthetic purse in the fire pit.
I parked in the driveway, walked up the steps, and unlocked the front door.
Maislet was already home from school, sitting at the kitchen table with a fresh box of markers and a blank sheet of paper. When she heard me walk in, she looked up, her bright eyes shining with curiosity.
"Daddy? Are you okay?"
I walked over, pulled out the chair beside her, and sat down. I reached into my shirt pocket, pulled out the strawberry drawing with the backward S, and placed it gently on the table.
"I'm better than okay, sweetie," I said, smiling as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "The cake you made was the best cake in the whole world. And nobody's ever going to make you feel bad about it again."
May you like
Maisie beamed, picking up a pink marker and carefully drawing a brand-new strawberry on the corner of her paper.
As I looked out the kitchen window toward the empty fire pit in the backyard, I knew the fallout was only beginning, and the family dynamics would never be the same again. But as the snow continued to fall outside, sealing the past in a clean, white sheet, I knew we were finally going to be just fine.
