---- Chapter 16 Almeda Hughes POV: | woke to the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor and the dull throb of a headache that felt like it was splitting my skull in two. It took a moment for my eyes to focus. Hector and Jacob were huddled by my bedside, their faces pale with worry. "You're awake," Hector breathed, a universe of relief in those two words. "What happened?" | whispered, my throat dry. "Helene," Jacob said, his small voice filled with a grown-up anger. "She tried to hurt you. But Daddy won't let her get away with it." Hector s jaw was set like granite. "She's been arrested. Attempted murder. She won't be seeing the light of day for a very, very long time. I'll make sure of it." He looked at me, his eyes dark with a protective fury I'd never seen before. "No one will ever hurt you again. | swear it." | was in the hospital for a week. They barely left my side. Jacob would read to me, his voice soft, and Hector would just sit there, watching me, his silence more eloquent than any words could be. ---- The day | was discharged, they were waiting for me. This time, | didn't try to leave alone. | let Hector help me into his car. | was weak, tired, and | knew this conversation was long overdue. He drove us back to the house. The one that used to be my prison. It looked different now, smaller somehow. Inside, he handed me a thick envelope. It was a stock transfer agreement. He was giving me forty percent of his company, Porter Industries. A fortune beyond comprehension. "| don't want this, Hector," | said, pushing it back towards him. "It's not for you to want," he said, his voice firm. "It's what you're owed. For the six years | stole from you. For the pain | caused. For saving my son's life, twice. It's a pathetic offering, | know. But it's a start." He looked at me, his pride stripped away, leaving only a raw, desperate vulnerability. "| know | don't deserve you, Almeda. | know | destroyed any chance we ever had. But Jacob... he needs you. He loves you. Can you find it in your heart to let us be a part of your life? Even a small part?" He wasn't asking me to come back. He was asking for visitation. | looked at Jacob, who was watching us with wide, hopeful eyes. He had been through so much. He deserved a chance at a real childhood, a real family, even if it was a broken and ---- patched-together one. "Once a month," | said, my voice quiet but clear. "You can bring him to my restaurant for dinner. The first Sunday of every month." Hector s shoulders slumped with relief. "Thank you," he whispered. "Anything. Thank you." A month later, | finally received the official document in the mail. My divorce was final. | held the paper in my hand and felt the last, heavy shackle fall away. | was free. | walked out of the courthouse and found Hector waiting for me "It's done," | said. He nodded, his eyes full of a deep, unending sadness. "I know." He looked at me, as if memorizing my face. "| will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for what | did to you, Almeda." "You don't owe me anything, Hector," | said, and for the first time, | meant it. "We're even." | turned to walk away, to finally step into my new life. "Next Sunday?" he called after me. "For dinner?" | stopped and looked back at him, a small, genuine smile touching my lips for the first time in a long, long time. "Yes," | said. "Next Sunday." ---- And | walked away, not into the sunset, but into the bright, promising light of my own, hard-won dawn.