Final judgment on the house fraud. The judge awarded you 100% of the equity. Mitchell has to sign over the deed by noon tomorrow or go to jail.
I smiled.
“What is it?” Mia asked.
“Just the final nail in the coffin,” I said.
I looked out at my daughter, bathing in the golden hour sun. I had lost a husband, but I had found myself. I had been burned to ash, and from that ash, I had built a fortress.
Mitchell had walked out of a baby shower thinking he was ending my life. Instead, he had given me the greatest gift of all: the chance to see exactly how strong I could be.
Ashley looked up at me, eyes shining. “Mama!”
“I’m here, baby,” I called back. “Mama’s always here.”
And as the sun set over my home—my real, paid-for, peaceful home—I knew that the best revenge wasn’t the money, or the humiliation, or the lawsuit. It was simply being happy without him.
And we were magnificent.
