His smile never wavered. “Ordinarily my courtroom is a very serious place where deeply sad things occur. I cannot tell you how much happiness and joy it brings me to see you and your family here today. It is with great pleasure I finalize this adoption and officially welcome Ash Ortiz to her new family. Congratulations!”

The judge banged his gavel, and the courtroom exploded with applause and cheers. Ash looked around at Christian and Nina, Rafi and Virginia. Her new family. All the bad stuff, her mother’s abuse, those endless days and weeks and months on the streets worrying about her safety, were replaced with the warmest feeling that she finally belonged. She hated that Leslie and Eli and Vic and all the others were denied this happiness, denied a future of their own. She hated that Nate was waging a war with his own mind. But like her therapist reminded her again and again, Ash wasn’t responsible for any of that. She deserved happiness. She told herself that when things got hard again—and Ash wasn’t naive enough to think they wouldn’t—she would force herself to remember today. Ash turned and saw Becca smiling back at her, but this time Ash was the one with tears in her eyes. Without hesitating, she hugged Becca, holding on tight, just like she’d been taught. After all the years of searching and seeking, all the years of running, Ash was finally home.

MO

MO

Jail wasn’t nearly as terrible as Mo anticipated. If she were being truthful, her accommodations were actually quite comfortable, a significant improvement from the Tribe’s previous dwellings. Mo had a bed, three square meals, and space for contemplation. Her lodgings at the county jail were more than adequate.

Of course, Mo’s recovery wasn’t without struggles. The first few months she spent on the medical ward. After Nate shot her in cold blood, Mo’s condition was quite critical. The staff didn’t say it outright, but Mo could sense they were impressed with her miraculous recovery.

“Very few patients survive an injury of this magnitude,” the surgeon said in awe.

Mo wanted to tell him that she had to survive. She was the chosen one, after all. Unfortunately, there were too many naysayers and doubters, so Mo kept those thoughts to herself.

Once her wounds healed, she was transferred to a special unit for high-profile inmates and kept in isolation, the guards monitoring her 24-7. Vic and the others had gone ahead with the original plan, and they were concerned Mo intended to join them and end it all. There were moments after her brutal attack when Mo considered that alternative. After all, she’d made a promise to Vic and the others that she would join them in the afterlife. She hated breaking their trust, but she wasn’t sure that was her destiny. At least not yet.