Emily finally cried out that all she had wanted was to get clean after those disgusting hands had been on her. Susan tried to steady her daughter and demanded that the investigator take action against a group of boys the whole neighborhood already knew was dangerous. He only shrugged and said that without direct evidence, proving anything would be difficult.
As expected, hope for a fair investigation faded quickly. The school staff mostly kept their distance, and one older language arts teacher even remarked that “quiet honor students” could surprise you. The boys, along with Katie, all insisted the encounter had been consensual.
Katie added detail after detail, claiming Emily had practically thrown herself at Tyler in front of the whole school. Tyler himself weakly said that Anthony Reed had asked him to step aside, and he had chosen not to get involved. It was obvious he had simply been afraid for himself and had done nothing to protect the girl he had brought outside.
Before long, the investigator called the family back in to announce that the case would not move forward due to insufficient evidence. He added, with open contempt, that witness statements suggested Emily had behaved recklessly, and that Susan should have done a better job raising her. He even made a cutting remark about how nothing good could be expected from a “broken home.”
At that, Susan stood up so fast her chair scraped the floor. She reminded him in a steady, furious voice that her husband had died serving the same justice system this man now represented so poorly. The mention of Officer Carter’s name made the investigator look away, but he still handed them the paperwork denying prosecution.
When they stepped outside, Emily felt completely drained and betrayed by the very system she had once believed in. Michael wanted to take matters into his own hands, but Emily begged him not to throw his life away over people like that. She held on to one belief: sooner or later, life catches up with everyone.
Time did what time sometimes does, and Emily kept moving along the path she had chosen. She finished her paralegal program with honors and then was accepted into a respected state university law school. By the time she enrolled, her last name had changed to Lewis, because real love had entered her life…
