“Melissa Anderson, you are under arrest for child endangerment and assault.”
Melissa screamed as she was taken away.
My father fell to his knees beside my bed, sobbing.
“Emily… what have I done?”
I looked at him quietly.
“You knew,” I said softly.
He promised he would fix everything. That Melissa was gone forever.
Maybe he meant it.
But the damage was already done.
The house might be safe again.
Yet it would never feel like home.
“You can buy new plates, Dad,” I whispered, staring out the hospital window.
“But some things, once they break, can never be fixed.”
