Chapter 8
Helen was served with the restraining order two days later.
She posted a video from her car, crying again.
“Rachel is trying to silence me,” she said. “She filed a restraining order so I can’t even check on Max. This is abuse of power.”
The video got shared in family group chats.
Some people defended her.
Others started asking questions.
My mother sent me a message.
“Helen is making it worse for herself. A lot of us are tired of the drama. We just want Max to be okay.”
I replied simply.
“Thank you.”
That same day my lawyer called with an update on Grace.
“She’s trying to make a deal,” he said. “Her lawyer offered information about Helen’s involvement in exchange for reduced charges. She claims Helen helped plan some of the abuse and encouraged her to use the guardianship to access your accounts.”
I wasn’t surprised.
“Take the deal if it helps us build a stronger case against Helen,” I said. “But Grace still serves real time. She hurt my son.”
“Understood.”
Two days later Helen was arrested at her house.
The charges included conspiracy to commit child abuse, aiding and abetting, and attempted interference with the Langford acquisition.
She posted one last video from the back of the police car before they took her phone.
“This is all Rachel,” she sobbed. “She set us up. She’s been planning this for years because she’s jealous of Grace.”
I watched it once, then deleted the app from my phone.
I was done with their videos.
Max noticed the change in me.
He started sleeping with the light off again.
He laughed louder at the park.
He stopped flinching when I raised my voice by accident.
One afternoon we were building a fort in the living room when he looked up at me.
“Mommy, are the bad aunties gone forever?”
I pulled him close.
“Yes, baby. They can’t hurt you anymore. And they can’t come near us.”
He smiled and went back to building.
That night I got the final update on the Langford deal.
Everything was ready.
Closing was scheduled for the following Monday.
My business partner sent a message.
“The board is impressed with how you handled everything. They want to move forward with you leading the integration.”
I smiled for the first time in weeks.
After Max went to bed, I sat at the kitchen table and looked at the framed drawing he had made.
MY MOMMY.
I touched the glass gently.
We had been through hell.
But we were still standing.
Grace was in jail.
Helen was in jail.
The family was slowly choosing sides, and more of them were choosing us.
The company was safe.
The acquisition was going through.
And Max was finally starting to feel like a normal five-year-old again.
I had spent so long being quiet.
Being the one who traveled for work.
Being the one everyone thought needed help.
Grace and Helen had underestimated me from the beginning.
They thought I was weak.
They thought I would fall apart.
They were wrong.
I had been building this whole time.
Quietly.
Strategically.
For Max.
And now everything I built was protecting us.
I closed my laptop and turned off the lights.
Tomorrow was a new day.
May you like
A better day.
And I was going to make sure it stayed that way.
