Chapter 10
Five years after I crawled out of that lakeside house, I stood on the balcony of my father's penthouse—now my penthouse—holding my newborn daughter.
Her name was Rose. After my mother.
Marcus was beside me. My father was there too—seventy-seven, still going strong, retired but advising. Rose was his first grandchild. He held her like she was made of glass.
The Amelia Project had helped over five thousand women. Hale-Morrison Health was the most ethical healthcare company in the country. We'd changed laws. Changed lives. Changed the world, a little bit.
Daniel was still in prison. He'd written again. I still didn't answer. Evelyn was working at a grocery store. She'd kept her end of the deal. I never saw her again.
And I was happy. Truly, deeply, lastingly happy.
I looked at Rose. At her tiny hand wrapped around my finger. At her eyes—my eyes, my mother's eyes, opening for the first time.
And I made her a promise.
"You will never know what it's like to be told to earn your place," I whispered. "You will never know what it's like to be slapped, or insulted, or made to feel small. You will grow up knowing you are loved. Knowing you are safe. Knowing your worth. And if anyone ever tries to make you feel less—your mother, your father, and your grandfather will be there. And we will destroy them."
Marcus laughed. My father laughed.
Rose gurgled.
The sun set over the city. The penthouse was warm. The people I loved most were around me.
And I thought about the woman I'd been five years ago. Shaking. Feverish. Crawling. Begging for help.
She'd been brave. She'd survived. She'd won.
And now, five years later, I was everything she'd hoped to be.
Safe. Loved. Confident. Free.
I kissed Rose's forehead. Held her close. Looked out at the city I'd helped change.
And I smiled.
May you like
Because our life—our beautiful, hard-won life—was just beginning.
The end.
