Chapter 5
Karen was not arrested that afternoon.
That made me angry for years.
At seven, I thought police came, heard the truth, and bad people disappeared.
Real life moved slower.
Officer Ramirez said they needed statements.
Medical records.
Proof she knew about the allergy.
Dad gave them the hospital discharge papers from Lucas’s last reaction.
Aunt Sarah gave them emails.
So many emails.
Karen had written to my mother’s trust lawyer pretending to be our guardian.
She had asked about selling the house.
Accessing funds.
Moving money “for the children’s care.”
The lawyer had refused.
That was why Aunt Sarah came to Miami.
Not only for the party.
For us.
That night, Karen packed a suitcase while Dad stood in the doorway.
She cried.
She begged.
She said she loved us.
Lucas hid behind Aunt Sarah.
I stood beside Dad, gripping his sleeve.
Karen looked at me.
Her eyes hardened.
“You ruined everything.”
Dad stepped in front of me.
“No,” he said.
“You did.”
She laughed through tears.
“You think Sarah will take care of them? She lives in New York. You’ll be alone, Daniel. You can’t raise them without me.”
Dad looked at her for a long time.
Maybe he believed that once.
Maybe that was why he let so much happen.
Then he said, “I would rather be alone with my children than safe with someone who hurts them.”
Karen’s face twisted.
She left screaming.
The house felt different after the door closed.
Not peaceful.
Not yet.
More like after a storm when the windows are broken but the wind has stopped.
Dad sat on the floor and pulled Lucas and me into his arms.
He cried.
I had never seen him cry before.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
Over and over.
“I’m so sorry.”
Lucas touched his face.
“Daddy, no strawberry?”
Dad cried harder.
“No strawberry, buddy. Never again.”
Aunt Sarah stood by the window holding Mom’s letter.
She looked at Dad.
“When they sleep,” she said, “you and I need to talk.”
May you like
Dad nodded.
And I knew the cake was only the beginning.
