Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5 — The Unbreakable Glass
The trial lasted three weeks.
I sat in the front row every single day.
I didn't look down. I didn't cry.
I looked Victor in the eye while the prosecution dismantled his life piece by piece.
He was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, violating a protective order, and illegal possession of a firearm.
Nora testified against him.
She sat on the stand and admitted everything.
She admitted that her parents had funded his evasion.
Helena and Raúl were arrested the next day for aiding and abetting a fugitive.
The empire of abuse they had built finally crumbled under the weight of the law.
When the judge read the verdict, the courtroom was dead silent.
Guilty on all counts.
The sentence was twenty-five years without the possibility of parole.
Victor finally broke.
He wept openly as the bailiffs placed him in handcuffs and led him away.
He didn't look terrifying anymore.
He just looked like a ghost fading into the dark.
ONE YEAR LATER
The sun was shining through the large bay windows of my new office.
I was sitting at my desk, looking over a spreadsheet.
I wasn't just writing code anymore.
I had started a non-profit organization that designed encrypted, untraceable communication apps for victims of domestic violence.
It allowed them to seek help, store evidence securely, and contact authorities without their abusers ever knowing.
The app was called "Echo."
Because our voices deserve to be heard, even when they try to silence us.
The door to my office swung open.
Alex walked in, holding a squirming, giggling toddler.
Leo was walking now.
He had a mop of dark curls and a laugh that could cure any sadness in the world.
"Somebody demanded to see the boss," Alex smiled, setting Leo down on the carpet.
Leo ran over to my chair on wobbly legs, throwing his little arms around my knees.
"Mama!"
I scooped him up, pressing a kiss to his warm cheek.
"Hey, my brave boy," I whispered, holding him tight.
Alex sat in the chair opposite my desk, looking around the bright, clean office.
"You did it," Alex said softly. "You really built a whole new world."
I looked out the window.
The city looked beautiful from up here.
I thought about the dark house. The cold tiles. The fear that used to live in my bones.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
It belonged to a woman who didn't exist anymore.
"We did it," I corrected my brother.
I put Leo back on the floor, watching him play with a set of wooden blocks in the sunlight.
He was safe.
May you like
I was safe.
And no one would ever break our glass again.
