At the pre-trial hearings, Spencer tried to paint Hayden as an unstable soldier. Garrett claimed he’d only followed orders. Trevor and Preston feigned ignorance of the clinic.

Brandon offered money to make it go away. Justin broke down in court. Mason handed investigators the ledgers, the shipping routes, the account numbers.

But it was Sabrina’s recording that ended their defense. Thirty-one fractures became thirty-one pieces of evidence. Every blow meant to silence her ended up speaking louder than the entire Rosales name.

Chapter 12 — Where She Walks

Six months later, Sabrina left the rehabilitation center in a wheelchair, her hair growing back over a long scar along her scalp. She refused to hide it with a scarf.

It wasn’t a mark of defeat, she said, but proof she had survived.

Hayden walked beside her with Caleb in a front harness, the baby breathing on his own now, watching the world with bright, curious eyes. Outside, reporters and supporters had gathered.