Chapter 16
We moved to Maine two weeks after the trial.
The cottage was everything Margaret had promised. Small. Cozy. Perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
It was perfect.
Elodie loved it immediately. She ran through the house, exploring every room. She claimed the biggest bedroom for herself.
"Look, Mommy!" she said. "I can see the ocean from my bed!"
I stood in the doorway, watching her. My heart felt full.
Margaret came with us. She moved into the small guest cottage on the property. She wanted to be close. To help. To be a grandmother.
Detective Chen visited us the first weekend. She brought housewarming gifts. A coffee maker. Books for Elodie.
"I'm going to miss you two," she said.
"You can visit anytime," I said. "And we'll come visit you too."
She smiled.
"I'd like that," she said.
That night, we sat around the fireplace. Margaret made hot chocolate. Elodie told us stories about her new room.
For the first time in years, I felt completely at peace.
The first few months were an adjustment.
Elodie started school. She was nervous at first. But she made friends quickly. The other kids loved her stories and her laughter.
She still had nightmares sometimes. She still flinched when someone raised their voice. She still had therapy every week.
But she was healing.
And so was I.
I got a job at the local bookstore. It was quiet. Simple. I loved it.
I made friends. Neighbors. Other parents from school.
For the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged.
Margaret thrived too. She became the unofficial grandmother of the neighborhood. She baked cookies for the kids. She helped with the school bake sale.
She was making up for lost time.
One evening, about six months after we moved, Elodie came home from school with a drawing.
"Look what I made, Mommy!" she said.
She held up the picture. It was of our family. Me, Elodie, Margaret, and even Detective Chen, who'd visited the week before.
We were all holding hands. Smiling. The sun was shining.
"It's beautiful," I said. I hung it on the refrigerator.
That night, I tucked Elodie into bed.
"Mommy?" she said.
"Yes, baby?"
"Are the bad people ever going to come back?"
I sat down next to her. I took her hand.
"No, baby," I said. "They're gone. They can never hurt you again."
"Promise?" she said.
"I promise," I said.
She smiled. She closed her eyes.
"I love you, Mommy," she said.
"I love you too, baby," I said.
I kissed her forehead. I turned off the light. I stood in the doorway for a moment, watching her sleep.
Peaceful. Safe. Loved.
Everything she deserved.
I walked downstairs. Margaret was sitting in the living room, reading.
"She asleep?" she asked.
"Out like a light," I said.
I sat down next to her.
"Thank you," I said. "For everything."
Margaret smiled. She squeezed my hand.
"We're family," she said. "That's what family does."
We sat in silence for a while, listening to the ocean.
"Do you ever think about him?" Margaret asked quietly. "Harrison?"
I thought about it.
"Sometimes," I said. "But not in the way you think. I don't hate him anymore. I don't feel anything for him, really. He's just... gone."
Margaret nodded.
"I feel the same way," she said. "He's my son. But the man who did those things... he's not the boy I raised. That boy died a long time ago."
She looked at me.
"I'm proud of you, Maren," she said. "You fought for her. You never gave up. You're a wonderful mother."
Tears filled my eyes.
"Thank you," I said.
Outside, the waves crashed against the rocks. The moon was bright.
May you like
Inside, my family was safe. My daughter was sleeping peacefully.
Life was good.
