Chapter 5

The criminal case took longer.

Vanessa was charged with child abuse and neglect. The trial was six months later. By then, I was seventeen. I'd gained weight. I was sleeping better. I was doing well in school. I still had bad days, but they were fewer.

The trial was hard. Vanessa's lawyer attacked me. Attacked Caleb. Attacked Ava. Called us liars. Called Dad a manipulator.

But the evidence was too strong. The lock. The photos. The social worker's report. Mrs. Ellison's testimony. Caleb and Ava's testimony. My testimony. And the neighbors — they'd seen Vanessa throw food away. They'd heard me crying. They'd seen the lights on in my room late at night, when I couldn't sleep from hunger.

The jury convicted her.

She was sentenced to three years in prison.

I sat in that courtroom, Dad's hand in mine, and I listened to the judge read the sentence. I didn't feel triumph. I didn't feel joy. I felt — relief. And grief. Grief for the year I'd lost. Grief for the girl I'd been. Grief for the stepmother I'd once tried to love.

But mostly relief.

Afterward, we went out for ice cream. Caleb got mint chocolate chip. Ava got strawberry. Dad got coffee. I got chocolate — three scoops. I ate all of it.

"Slow down," Dad said, laughing. "There's more."

I looked at him. "I know," I said. And I did know. For the first time, I really knew.

That night, I cleaned out my room. I found the hidden food — the granola bars, the crackers, the fruit, some of it moldy. I threw it all away. I didn't need it anymore.

I stood in my room, looking at the empty hiding spots, and I cried. Not sad tears. Not happy tears. Just — release.

Dad knocked on my door. "Nia? You okay?"

I opened the door. I hugged him. "I'm okay, Dad. I'm really okay."

He held me. "I'm sorry," he said. For the hundredth time.

"Stop apologizing," I said. "You saved me. That's what matters."

He kissed the top of my head. "I love you, Nia."

May you like

My Stepmother Tried to Kill Me at Three—But My Dog Exposed the Secret Th...

“Happy birthday, Lily!”” my father said, raising his glass. I was three years old, sitting in a pink dress at the head of a dinin...

She Refused to Wash One More Dish—And Her Husband's Entire Family Was Ab...

He thought I would come crawling back. That was the first mistake Marcus made that Friday night. The second was assuming I had n...

The Hotel Owner They Tried to Throw Out

"Sir, this is a five-star hotel. Perhaps you should try somewhere more affordable."" The receptionist delivered the insult with a...

"I love you too, Dad."

And for the first time in a long time, I meant it without fear.