She turned and walked off, and even from a distance, Rachel’s shrieking echoed behind her—music to Maria’s ears.
Outside the police station, Maria felt lighter than she had in weeks. She hopped into a cab and updated James on everything. He called her right away.
“It’s finally over. Really over,” he said, holding back emotion. He had been helpless through it all, eaten up with guilt, barely able to sleep. But now? Maria had handled everything like a champ.
Hearing his voice made Maria feel oddly at peace. “When Cody is back, can you help arrange for Rachel’s assistant’s dad to be transferred to the top hospital in North City? He really helped me out—I owe him.”
“He helped you?” James frowned. “If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t have gone through all this in the first place.”
