Godmother To His Son Then I Took His Kingdom Chapter 19
When the police car pulled up beside the lawn, Graham was still standing there, stunned.
Two officers checked the restraining order, reviewed the video Mara had taken, and handcuffed him on the spot.
“I just wanted to talk to her!” he was still shouting as they pushed him into the back of the squad car. “Mara!”
She didn’t answer.
The door slammed shut. The siren faded into the distance. The interrupted music started up again across the grass.
Mara turned to Eli, saw the split at the corner of his mouth, and said softly, “I’m sorry. I dragged you into this.”
Eli wiped away a smear of blood with the back of his hand and smiled.
“Don’t apologize. He finally got what was coming to him. I’m happy for you.”
Just as he finished speaking, his phone buzzed.
A news alert flashed across the screen: Evelyn Cabot sentenced to twenty-five years to life without parole on combined charges including negligent homicide and document forgery.
Mara stared at the words for a long moment, then slowly let out her breath.
That night, she dreamed of her parents’ laundromat.
The dryers hummed. Her mother stood behind the counter, and her father was placing folded towels into a basket. When they saw her, they smiled, exactly as she remembered.
“Mom. Dad…”
She ran into their arms and clung to them, crying so hard her whole body shook.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect you. I couldn’t even keep your ashes.”
Her mother stroked her hair, and her father wrapped them both in his arms.
“Silly girl, that was never your fault,” her mother said gently. “We’re gone, but you’re still here. You have to live your life well enough for all of us.”
Mara woke up with tears on her cheeks.
Outside, dawn was breaking.
She pressed a hand to her chest. It still ached, but the crushing weight was gone.
The stone that had been lodged in her heart for years had finally, finally fallen away.