Chapter 11 - The Appeal
The news of the appeal shattered the fragile peace I had built.
I couldn’t sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Michael’s cold smile.
I imagined him walking out of prison, finding out where we lived, standing on my balcony.
The fear was a living thing inside me again, clawing at my chest.
I had to protect my family.
Lena assured me the appeal process would take months, possibly a year.
"The wheels of justice turn slowly," she said.
But for me, time had stopped.
I doubled checked the locks every night.
I bought a security camera.
I varied my route to work.
Emily noticed the change.
She offered to move in, sleeping on the couch so I wouldn’t feel so alone.
Her presence helped, but the shadow of Michael loomed over us.
To make matters worse, Michael’s parents ramped up their harassment.
They filed a petition for grandparents' visitation rights.
They claimed I was alienating Tyler from his paternal family.
The audacity was suffocating.
They had funded the man who beat me, and now they wanted to claim my son.
I spent hours in Lena's office, preparing affidavits, gathering character witnesses from my new job and Tyler’s school.
I was determined to fight them with everything I had.
But the stress was taking its toll.
My hair was thinning.
I was losing weight.
I felt like I was back in that house, trapped, waiting for the next blow.
Then, I received a strange letter in the mail.
No return address.
Just a single piece of paper with a typed message: 'He’s not working alone.
Watch your back.' I took it to Lena, who passed it to the police.
The detective assigned to the case, a gruff man named Harris, didn't seem too concerned.
"Could be a prank," he muttered.
But I knew better.
Michael was orchestrating something from the inside.
He had resources.
He had money.
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And he had nothing but time to plot his revenge.
I had to find out who was helping him before it was too late.
