Tessa accepted a plea agreement and testified against them.
Patricia lost nearly everything after investigators uncovered additional fraudulent financial transactions.
And the mansion?
It remained exactly where it had always been.
Mine.
Months later, I stood behind the same gates where Patricia had screamed at me.
Lily was beside me.
She was holding a small stuffed rabbit.
“Mommy?”
I looked down.
“Yes?”
“Is this our house?”
I smiled.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
She looked through the gates.
“Can people take it away?”
I knelt beside her.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s protected.”
She smiled.
Then she hugged me.
Behind us, the mansion doors opened.
