“This house is finally home.”

The afternoon sun warmed the wooden porch rail and washed the quiet front garden in bright May light.

Federal marshals had seized Julian’s fraudulent assets and taken him off the property, while Arthur faced civil penalty proceedings for his part in the procurement scheme.

I chose to enforce full military legal protection over my home and refused to sign a leniency affidavit that would have covered up my family’s crimes. I also refused the cruel impulse to leave my aging parents completely destitute, and gave them a modest private rent allowance out of my own pocket.

Julian started his federal sentence, Harper moved into a smaller apartment in town, and I raised my baby girl in the quiet warmth of the house on Elmwood Lane.

Sunlight glinted off the freshly polished brass wristband resting on the living room mantel.

“Our home is whole once more, David.”