“Another word, Mrs. Parker, and I will hold you in contempt,” Judge Vance said, her eyes flashing. “This court is adjourned.”

The gavel came down with a sharp crack.

Victoria turned to me, a small, victorious smile on her face. “We did it, Emma.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, my voice thick with tears.

But as I looked across the aisle, I saw Margaret whispering intensely into her lawyer’s ear.

Her eyes darted toward Thomas, who was standing quietly near the back row of seats.

She looked back at her lawyer, nodding once, a cold, calculating look returning to her face.

They weren’t finished.

We slowly made our way out of the courtroom and down the long hallway toward the elevators.

The adrenaline was fading, and the physical pain was returning, a dull, throbbing ache in my abdomen.

Thomas walked beside my wheelchair, his hand resting on the handle.

“You did great, Emma,” he said softly. “You showed them.”

“We showed them,” I corrected, looking up at him. “I couldn’t have done this without you, Thomas.”

“We’re a family now,” he said. “The real kind.”