My fingers shook as I dialed 9-1-1. Two rings, then a professional voice. “Emergency services. What’s your personally train you. The police officer waited patiently while I completed arrangements with Maria. Address exchange, start date confirmation, promise of work visa assistance if needed. When I finally hung up, I felt lighter than I had in months.
The ride back to Brooklyn passed in comfortable silence. Streetlights illuminated familiar neighborhoods where honesty still mattered more than wealth, where people worked hard without expecting others to fund their mistakes. My modest house welcomed me like an old friend. Inside, family photos covered the refrigerator: Rick at various ages, Emma at their wedding, Margaret smiling from better times.
I removed Rick’s photo carefully, not destroying it, but placing it in a kitchen drawer. Some memories deserved preservation, but not daily visibility. Emma’s wedding picture followed. Margaret’s photo remained on the refrigerator, her smile approving of justice served and new friendships earned through moral courage.
On my calendar, I wrote, Maria, 10 a.m. Monday, in the space reserved for important appointments. Below that, new beginning. Outside, Brooklyn hummed with honest late-night activity: night-shift workers heading home, early-shift workers starting their day, people who understood that integrity couldn’t be purchased with borrowed money or stolen through family manipulation. Margaret would have loved Maria’s story. She always said the best employees were those who did the right thing for the right reasons, regardless of personal cost.
My phone buzzed with a final text from Detective Harrison: Both suspects formally charged. Trial scheduled for August. Your testimony will be crucial.
I turned off the lights and headed upstairs, finally ready to sleep peacefully. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, but tonight, justice had been served by good people making difficult choices. In my bedroom, Margaret’s cologne still sat on the dresser, a reminder that love means protecting people from harm, even when that harm comes from family—especially when it comes from family.