CHAPTER 5: THE PRICE OF A SECOND CHANCE
CHAPTER 5: THE PRICE OF A SECOND CHANCE
Lauren didn't call to negotiate.
She showed up.
She sat in a corner booth of the diner three blocks from our new apartment.
She looked significantly older.
The expensive designer jewelry was gone.
The arrogant, high-society posture was entirely broken.
"He changed, Evelyn," she whispered, her eyes red and swollen.
I didn't touch my coffee.
"He changed because a judge forced him to, Lauren," I said coldly.
She leaned across the table, her hands trembling.
"My parents are losing the main house," she revealed.
"The legal fees from the trial drained the primary accounts," she explained.
"They want to bring Chase back to live with them," she continued.
"But the rehabilitation board won't approve his release unless the family shows unity," she added.
I looked at her, my jaw tightening.
"Unity?"
"They need Noah to sign a victim-impact release form," she said.
"They need him to state on record that it was just a childhood game that went too far."
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I slowly stood up from the booth.
"Never," I whispered.
