Part 6
The kitchen smelled of roasted hazelnut and old wood.
Maya sat at the small round table, her hands wrapped tightly around the porcelain mug I gave her.
She looked small against the backdrop of the sleek, soulless cabinets Chloe had installed.
But she belonged here far more than Chloe ever did.
I placed the manila envelope between us.
My fingers brushed the yellowed paper.
It felt heavy.
Heavy with thirty-three years of secrets, fear, and stolen justice.
With trembling hands, I opened the metal clasp.
Inside were the original safety logs.
Robert’s handwriting was right there on the margin of the first page.
“Harness line 4 frayed. Needs immediate replacement. R. Hayes.”
Beneath it, a stamp in harsh red ink: DENIED.
A tear slipped down my cheek, hot and fast, catching me by surprise.
I hadn't cried for Robert in a very long time.
I had been too busy surviving.
“The trust money was hidden in offshore accounts,” Maya explained, leaning forward.
“Martin used it to fund his first major real estate development.”
“The development that made him a millionaire,” I whispered.
“Yes,” Maya nodded. “But because it was illegally diverted from a federally mandated safety fund, the government is stripping it all away from his estate.”
“And the court recognizes you as the rightful owner.”
She pulled out a financial ledger and pointed to the final sum.
Millions.
An absurd, staggering amount of money.
Money that could have paid for Dan’s college without me working three jobs.
Money that could have fixed our old truck so Robert didn't have to walk to work in the freezing rain.
It couldn't bring him back.
But it could finally rewrite the end of our story.
Before I could speak, the phone on the counter began to vibrate.
The screen lit up.
Dan.
It was the fifth time he had called this week.
Ever since the news broke about Chloe’s arrest, he had been trying to reach me, leaving weeping voicemails about how he "didn't know" and how "we were both victims."
I walked over and picked up the phone.
I didn't answer it.
I simply held down the power button until the screen went black, then placed it face down on the counter.
His cowardice was no longer my burden to bear.
I walked back to the table and sat down across from the daughter of the man who ran away.
“What will you do now, Mrs. Hayes?” Maya asked softly.
I looked out the window at my rose garden.
The sun was setting, painting the sky in deep shades of amber and violet.
“First,” I said, a genuine smile touching my lips for the first time in years.
“We are going to use Martin Vale's own money to retain you as my full-time attorney.”
Maya blinked, a sudden spark of hope replacing the exhaustion in her eyes.
May you like
“And second?” she asked.
“And second,” I said, looking around the room. “I am going to tear down these dreadful grey cabinets.”
