Chapter 13
Ethan became a lawyer.
No one was surprised.
He claimed he chose law because he liked justice.
I told him he chose law because he liked arguing and wearing suits.
Both were true.
At his graduation, Dad and I sat together.
Dad’s hair had more gray now.
His eyes looked softer.
Ethan crossed the stage, grinning like an idiot.
I screamed his name.
Very dignified.
Afterward, he hugged me.
“You’re the reason,” he said.
“For law school?”
“For learning that protecting someone means more than standing in front of them after harm. It means changing the room before harm happens.”
I cried into his robe.
“Stop being eloquent. It’s annoying.”
He laughed.
He joined a nonprofit legal clinic for children with disabilities.
Together, we built something larger from the Maya Trust.
A legal-medical advocacy center.
Dr. Wallace served on the board.
Nina trained families on rehab rights.
Ms. Alvarez taught reporting procedures.
Dad handled fundraising but never spoke over survivors.
That was his rule.
He made it himself.
One day, I found him sitting alone in the center lobby, staring at a photograph of Mom.
My real mom.
“You think she’d forgive me?” he asked.
I sat beside him.
“For Karen?”
“For not seeing.”
I looked at Mom’s photo.
“I don’t know.”
He nodded.
“But I think she’d be proud you stopped looking away.”
His eyes filled.
“That helps.”
May you like
Good.
It was true.
