Gloria looked at the deputy, then at the neighbors watching from the gates.

Her proud shoulders slumped.

The illusion of the Ralston dynasty was completely shattered.

She turned and walked back toward the house, her steps slow and heavy, like an old woman.

Graham looked at me, his eyes pleading.

“Jocelyn, please,” he whispered. “We can work this out.”

“For the girls.”

“The girls are safe,” I said. “They are with me.”

“And they will never have to carry the weight of your family name again.”

I turned my back on him and walked down the driveway.

I did not look back as I got into my car.

I drove away from Highland Park, leaving the sirens and the whispers behind me.

By the time I reached my new home, the stars were beginning to appear in the Texas sky.

The house was warm and quiet.

I walked inside and found Hazel and Ruby sitting at the kitchen island, eating cheese sandwiches.

Our new nanny, a kind woman named Maria, smiled at me from the stove.

“They have been very good, Señora,” Maria said.