Chapter 14: Resolution
The plea agreements came together within six weeks.
Priscilla accepted a deal that included prison time, full restitution of the stolen funds, and a permanent no-contact order. Derek pleaded to the lesser obstruction charge and received probation, community service, and the same no-contact restriction. Both were barred from any future role in my father’s finances or care decisions.
I attended the sentencing hearings out of professional habit more than emotional need. Priscilla did not look at me. Derek glanced once in my direction and then stared at the floor. Neither offered an apology that mattered.
After the final hearing, I drove my father to the small park near his new apartment. We sat on a bench and watched the afternoon light move across the grass.
“It’s over,” he said.
“The legal part is,” I answered. “The rest we take one day at a time.”
He nodded.
“I can live with that.”
May you like
We stayed until the air turned cool. On the drive back he asked if I would help him look at a few longer-term housing options—someplace with a little more space, maybe a small garden. I told him we could start the following week.
For the first time since the night he called me from the police station, the future felt like something we could plan rather than something we had to survive.
