Chapter 6
The house was quiet after the trial.
For a while, quiet frightened Andy.
He had become used to waiting for an explosion.
A slammed door.
A cruel text.
A demand.
He began therapy, and he moved into a small apartment near his job. He wanted to learn how to stand on his own again.
I understood.
I had invited him into my house as a son needing help.
Now I wanted to let him leave as a man building a life.
The financial damage took time to repair.
There were calls to banks, letters to credit agencies, and endless forms.
But the fraud conviction helped.
One by one, the false accounts were removed.
One by one, Andy’s name became his own again.
Jenna started attending family dinners.
At first, she and Andy spoke awkwardly. Carly had kept both of them separated, feeding them different lies.
But people can rebuild when the lies are finally gone.
One Sunday, Jenna brought dessert.
Andy made pasta.
I looked around my old kitchen and felt Thomas close somehow.
He would have hated what happened.
But he would have loved seeing our family refuse to break.
Then Detective Collins called.
Brent had agreed to cooperate in exchange for a reduced sentence.
He admitted Carly had planned to pressure Andy into selling his share of a small investment account Thomas had left him.
She had wanted the money to pay debts connected to an illegal gambling operation.
That was the truth behind everything.
The drinking.
The theft.
The panic.
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Carly had not moved into my house to save for a future.
She had moved in because she needed somewhere to hide.
