Chapter 8
Three months passed.
Three months of lawyers.
Three months of court dates.
Three months of waiting.
Ryan and Diane had been denied bail.
They were in jail.
Awaiting trial.
The evidence against them was overwhelming.
The second phone.
The documents from the safe.
The offshore accounts.
The testimony from Thornton Pharmaceuticals.
Ryan's fraud was even bigger than we'd thought.
He'd stolen nearly $10 million from his company.
Sold their research to competitors.
Built his own empire with stolen money and stolen ideas.
The trial was set to begin next month.
The prosecution said it was an open and shut case.
Ryan and Diane were going away for a long time.
Twenty years minimum.
Maybe more.
Noah and I were doing okay.
We'd sold the big house.
Too many bad memories.
We bought a smaller house.
Cozy.
Safe.
Noah started at a new school.
Made new friends.
He was smiling again.
Laughing.
The nightmares were getting less frequent.
He was healing.
I was healing too.
I'd gone back to work.
Part-time at first.
Then full-time.
I was an accountant.
Good with numbers.
Good with details.
I'd gotten a job at a small firm.
The people were nice.
The work was steady.
We were building a new life.
Together.
Lisa had been amazing.
She'd handled everything.
The divorce.
The custody.
The asset recovery.
We'd gotten most of the money back.
The offshore accounts had been frozen.
The beach house had been seized.
The cash from the safe was ours.
Noah and I would be financially secure for the rest of our lives.
But money wasn't important.
What was important was that we were safe.
We were free.
We were together.
It was a Saturday afternoon.
Noah was at a friend's birthday party.
I was home alone.
Cleaning.
Organizing.
Making our new house feel like home.
The doorbell rang.
I wasn't expecting anyone.
I walked to the door.
Looked through the peephole.
And froze.
Standing on my porch was a woman.
Young.
Beautiful.
Dark hair.
Holding a baby in her arms.
Elena.
My heart started pounding.
What was she doing here?
How had she found me?
I thought about calling the police.
But something stopped me.
Curiosity?
Pity?
I don't know.
I unlocked the door.
Opened it.
Elena looked at me.
Her eyes were red.
Puffy.
Like she'd been crying.
"Sarah," she said.
Her voice was soft.
Scared.
"How did you find me?"
She looked down.
"Your lawyer. Lisa. She called me. Said... said you might be willing to talk."
"Why would I want to talk to you?"
She looked up.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Because I didn't know. I swear to God, I didn't know."
"Didn't know what?"
"That he was married. That he had a son. That any of this was real."
She took a step forward.
The baby stirred in her arms.
"His name wasn't David Mills to me. It was Ryan Carter. He told me he was a widower. That his wife had died in a car accident five years ago. That he was alone. That he wanted to start a new family."
She was crying harder now.
"I had no idea, Sarah. I had no idea he was still married to you. No idea about Noah. If I had known... I never would have... I never would have let this happen."
I stared at her.
She looked sincere.
But how could I trust her?
She'd had my husband's baby.
She'd lived in the house he'd bought with stolen money.
She'd been part of this, even if she didn't know it.
"Why are you here?" I asked.
She wiped her eyes.
"I want to help. I'll testify against him. Against Diane. I'll tell the court everything. About the lies. About the money. About everything. I just... I need you to know. I'm not the enemy here. I'm just another victim."
The baby woke up.
Started crying.
Elena rocked her gently.
"Shh, Luna. It's okay. Mommy's here."
Luna.
Ryan's daughter.
Noah's half-sister.
I looked at the baby.
Innocent.
Pure.
She hadn't asked for any of this.
Just like Noah hadn't.
Just like Elena hadn't.
"Come in," I said.
Elena looked surprised.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Come in. We can talk."
I stepped aside.
Let her in.
We sat in the living room.
Elena told me everything.
How she'd met Ryan at a coffee shop in Los Angeles.
How he'd swept her off her feet.
How he'd told her he was a widower.
How he'd proposed after six months.
How they'd gotten married in Las Vegas.
How she'd gotten pregnant.
How she'd thought she had the perfect life.
Until the police showed up at the beach house.
Until they'd told her everything.
About me.
About Noah.
About the fraud.
About the bigamy.
Her whole world had crumbled.
Just like mine had.
"I loved him," she said.
"I really loved him. And now... now I hate him. For what he did to you. To Noah. To me. To Luna."
She looked at me.
"I'm not going to fight you for anything. The house. The money. None of it. It's all yours. I just want to make sure he goes away. That he can never hurt anyone again."
I believed her.
I really did.
She was just as much a victim as I was.
Maybe more.
She had a baby to raise.
Alone.
With no money.
No family nearby.
Nothing.
"What are you going to do?" I asked.
She shrugged.
"Go back to Texas. My parents live there. They'll help me. I'll get a job. Raise Luna. Try to move on."
She looked at the baby.
"I don't want her to know about any of this. When she's older... I'll tell her the truth. But for now... she just needs to be a baby."
I nodded.
"I understand."
We sat in silence for a moment.
Then Elena said, "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How's Noah? Is he okay?"
I smiled.
A small, genuine smile.
"He's getting there. He's tough. Like his mom."
Elena smiled back.
"I bet he is."
She stood up.
"I should go. I just wanted to tell you the truth. And to say... I'm sorry. For everything. Even though I didn't know, I'm still sorry."
She walked to the door.
Paused.
Turned around.
"If you ever need anything. A witness. Someone to talk to. Whatever. I'm here."
"Thank you."
She left.
Closed the door softly behind her.
I stood there.
Alone in my living room.
I felt... strange.
I didn't hate Elena.
How could I?
She was just another woman Ryan had used.
Another life he'd destroyed.
I walked to the window.
Watched her get in her car.
Drive away.
The baby was visible in the back seat.
I thought about Noah.
About Luna.
They were brother and sister.
They shared the same father.
A father who was a monster.
Would they ever meet?
Would they ever know each other?
I didn't know.
But I knew one thing.
I wasn't going to keep them apart.
Not if Noah wanted to know her.
Not if Luna wanted to know him.
They were innocent.
They didn't deserve to be punished for their father's sins.
I heard a car pull into the driveway.
Noah was home from the party.
I wiped my eyes.
Took a deep breath.
Opened the door.
Noah ran up the steps.
"Mom! The party was awesome! We had cake and ice cream and I won a prize!"
He held up a small stuffed dinosaur.
"That's great, baby! I'm so glad you had fun."
He looked at me.
"Mom? Are you okay? Your eyes are red."
"I'm fine, Noah. Just... thinking about some things."
"Good things or bad things?"
I smiled.
"Good things. Mostly good things."
I took his hand.
Walked inside with him.
"Come on. Let's make dinner. Your favorite. Spaghetti and meatballs."
"Yeah!"
He ran to the kitchen.
I watched him go.
My son.
My beautiful, brave son.
May you like
We were going to be okay.
All of us.
