Chapter 33
Chapter 33: A Mother’s Vigil
With Sabrina in custody and awaiting extradition, I spent the next four days in London with Anna. We stayed in a small, boutique hotel near Covent Garden. We walked along the River Thames, visited museums, and talked about everything except the family.
On my final night before flying back to the States, we were sitting in a quiet restaurant. Anna looked across the table at me, her eyes reflecting the candlelight.
"Mom," she said softly, holding her fork. "Is it finally over?"
"Yes, sweetie," I smiled, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand. "Sabrina is going back to Virginia in custody. Her probation is revoked, which means she’ll be serving the remainder of her sentence behind bars. There is no one left to come after us."
"I used to think about them a lot," Anna admitted, looking down at her plate. "At the Friday dinner party before all this started, when Grandma Janet said I didn't have the talent or the pedigree for a real university... it really hurt. I almost believed her."
May you like
"Janet built her entire life on a lie, Anna," I told her. "She thought a pedigree was something you bought with stolen money. You earned your place here with your own hard work, your own mind, and your own talent. Never let a criminal define your worth."
Anna smiled, a tear slipping down her cheek, but it was a tear of release, not sorrow. When I boarded my flight the next morning, I knew that the investment I had made—not just the money, but the emotional war I had fought—was worth every single tear.
