Chapter 16 - Diane's Plea
Diane accepted a plea months later.
Forgery-related charges.
Notary misconduct.
Financial conspiracy counts tied to the deed and loan paperwork.
The assault charge remained part of the agreement.
She lost her notary commission permanently.
There was restitution.
Probation after confinement.
No contact with me.
No triumphant courtroom speech.
I did not attend sentencing.
Jenna asked if I was sure.
"Yes."
I had already seen the most important evidence.
The kitchen video.
It showed what happened without asking me to relive it for an audience.
Ryan faced separate financial charges connected to client deposits and false records.
His company entered restructuring.
Some projects were sold.
Employees moved to other firms.
A few lost jobs.
That hurt.
But I stopped accepting the idea that preventing consequences was the same thing as protecting innocent people.
The independent receiver recovered money.
Not all of it.
Enough to reduce losses.
Allison became a key witness and later took a job with another developer.
She called me once.
"I keep thinking I should've said something earlier."
I understood.
"Me too."
She laughed softly.
"We both did eventually."
That mattered.
Then Rachel called with the best news in months.
The county recorder had officially voided the fraudulent joint deed.
The title returned to exactly what it had been before.
Owner:
Sarah Mercer.
Separate property.
My mother's house was mine again on paper.
It had always been mine in truth.
That night I stood in the kitchen beneath the camera.
The cabinet was repaired.
The floor was clean.
The alarm panel had been replaced.
I looked up at the lens.
May you like
Then I did something Ryan and Diane had tried for months to stop me from doing.
I believed my own memory.
