8
563words
Police hauled Margaret from the plant in handcuffs.
She thrashed,spotting me in the crowd and cursing,“Helen Carter,you tramp!You framed me so that you could be with Frank!He’s nothing without me—my family made him!”
All eyes turned to Frank.
His fists clenched,and his face turned red.
I’d informed Lily,and she brought classmates to watch.
Margaret’s son,seeing his mom arrested, and swung at the officers.Frank restrained him.
Lily,chin high,told her friends,“See?She lied about my mom.The police got her.Say it again,and they’ll get you too!”
The kids,wide-eyed,covered their mouths,staring as Margaret was led away.
I knew her family wouldn’t let it go.
When they summoned me,I wasn’t shocked.
In the plant’s meeting room,Margaret’s father sat with a posse,trying to intimidate me.
I held Lily close,calm.
“Helen,withdraw the case,and we’ll pay a little compensation.Otherwise,you get nothing,and I’ll have you fired.”
He glared,menacing.
I shrugged.“Pay a million?”
He slammed the table.“Don’t push your luck!”
The manager chimed in,“Helen,with this international contract,wages will rise.You know our benefits—thanks to Mr.Walsh.A single mom,always dolled up—it’s easy to stir talk.”
“Settle,don’t be stubborn,or we’ll fire you.”
Before I could speak,the door swung open.
“Who dares?”
My husband,James Carter,strode in with a suited man.
Lily ran to him.“Daddy!”
I stood,stunned, and rushed into his arms under shocked gazes.
He stroked my back gently.“I’m sorry that you and Lily have suffered.I’m back.”
Turning to the stunned manager,he said,“My contract’s with a state-run plant,not some Walsh family fiefdom.”
The manager,who was clueless about James,frowned.
But the suited man was known—Deputy Mayor Robert Lang,overseeing the city’s economy.
Lang eyed the manager sternly.“This is James Carter,who owns the international steel contract and Helen Carter’s husband!I hear you’ve encouraged slander and let this plant rot with corruption!”
The manager was frozen and speechless.
James spoke,“With a manager like this,I doubt you can manage my contract.I’m considering pulling it.”
Panic swept the room.Everyone knew the the importance of the contract.
Margaret’s father stood,trying to use his status to influence Lang,but was cut off.
“Walsh,you’re retired.Live off your pension,not by defrauding the state.”
11
I submitted Sarah’s evidence,and accompanied her to file a case.
The Walsh family,embroiled in their own mess,ignored her and a state investigation suspected them of embezzling public funds.
The elder Walsh faced scrutiny at his files flooded the task force.
The once-mighty Walsh family collapsed.
Rumor said that Margaret,in a labor camp,begged to see her parents,but no one visited.
The manager,implicated in scandals,was demoted to a line worker.
The management of the plant cleared my name,and many apologized.
I felt little emotion—late apologies meant nothing.
Margaret’s case drew the task force’s attention.Her crimes were confirmed,and under the strict laws of the 1980s,her sentence was harsh.
On her sentencing day,I took leave,bringing Lily to watch her being transported in a prison vehicle,publicly shamed.
Sarah stood beside me,with her fists clenched.
Margaret, thinner and stripped for her arrogance,stood among other inmates with a sign around her neck, her head bowed.
Crowds jeered and cursed.
She glanced up and locked eyes with me.
I smirked,mocking her.
She glared,powerless.
Nearby,her son,disheveled,was chased and beaten by classmates.
“Stay away from us!Stay out of our class—you bullied us,now we’ll get you!”
I looked away.
Bending to Lily,I asked,“Heard the department store got new red shoes.Want me to buy them?”
She clapped,beaming.“Yes!You are the best!”
Hand in hand,we walked into the sunlight.
