It was three o'clock in the afternoon. Meela took a deep breath as she heard footsteps outside the clinic.
She turned around and smiled. "Dad! I told you I was just coming for a checkup! I'm fine! You didn't have to leave work early!"
General Samuel Carter laughed. "I'm your dad. I'm allowed to worry about you."
Meela rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. It was the first real smile she'd had in months.
"The results came back," Samuel said, his voice growing serious. "Brianna got two years. Kaius got one year suspended. If you want to appeal—"
"Dad," Meela interrupted him. "It's over. And you gave the Goldwin family two million dollars, remember? We don't owe them anything anymore."
Samuel grinned and slapped the table. "That's my girl! No point dwelling on the past! Onwards and upwa
