Chapter 11 - The Price of an Honest Answer
The verdict came on a Thursday.
Vale was found guilty of multiple fraud charges.
Other charges remained under investigation.
The judge ordered restitution proceedings.
I listened without moving.
I had imagined this moment for months.
I expected triumph.
Instead, I felt exhausted.
Outside, reporters crowded the courthouse steps.
I refused their questions.
June guided me toward the car.
Roman stood beside the entrance.
He kept his distance.
"Norah," he said quietly.
I stopped.
"Thank you for telling the truth."
I looked at him.
"I didn't do it for you."
"I know."
He nodded once.
Then stepped aside.
I drove home with the window open.
The air smelled of wet pavement.
I thought of Dad's voice on the recorder.
Of the words he had left me.
Of the years I could never recover.
Justice hadn't returned those years.
But it had ended the lie.
That night, I put the recorder away.
May you like
Not because I wanted to forget.
Because I could finally remember without fear.
