Chapter 14 - The Restitution
David Kensington called me a week after the sentencing.
"Check your bank account, Sarah."
I opened my banking app on my phone.
My balance, which usually hovered around a few hundred dollars, had suddenly exploded.
The trust fund had been fully recovered through the liquidation of my parents' assets.
With interest.
I stared at the seven-figure number on the screen.
It wasn't just money.
It was security.
It was the freedom to never have to work a night shift at a diner again.
It was the ability to pay for my living expenses while I completed my Master's degree.
I immediately transferred a generous sum to the teaching assistant my father had threatened.
I anonymously paid off the student loans of my best friend who had supported me through the darkest days.
Wealth wasn't a weapon to me.
It was a tool to build a better life, not just for me, but for the people who actually mattered.
I finally moved out of my cramped studio and bought a beautiful, sunlit loft near the campus.
I bought a brand-new cello.
I spent my evenings playing music in front of large, open windows.
The music flowed freely, unbound by fear or criticism.
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My family had tried to crush my spirit to build their empire.
Instead, I had used their empire to buy my freedom.
