Piper needed protection from being made to tell her story over and over until adults accepted it.

Before Vega left, I gave her permission to contact my attorney once I had one.

I had never needed to hire a lawyer for something like this.

Lena said she knew whom to call.

For years I had mistaken wealth for security.

Now I understood that having help meant having people who were willing to hear the truth.

PART 9: The Birthday Video

Three days later, my attorney, Naomi Chen, arrived with the first clear account of what investigators had recovered.