My Sister Stole My Husband, My Son, and My Medal Chapter 09

My Sister Stole My Husband, My Son, and My Medal Chapter 09

Given everything I’d uncovered and why I’d staged my death, the department and the DA’s office chose not to

press charges.

Chief Dane personally pinned the State Medal of Valor to my chest.

“Romilly Calder, report back to the Major Crimes Unit tomorrow.”

For a moment, I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t trust myself to speak.

Three years. Three years of grief, of chasing ghosts, of bleeding for evidence someone else tried to steal.

Three years of being told I was the one who should have died.

And now this.

I saluted him, my eyes filling with tears.

“Detective Romilly Calder, reporting for duty.”

That evening, my colleagues held a celebration in my honor.

Some praised my courage. Others told me how sorry they were for everything I’d endured. A few apologized for the cruel things they had said about me over the past three years.

Their kindness warmed me, and I let it.

But their apologies had come too late, and I had no intention of forgiving them.

I’d spent three years standing alone.

I could do it again.

News that I was alive reached Stellan and my parents within hours.

They arrived at my door with Bram before I could prepare myself for what I’d say.

The moment he saw me, Bram froze. Then he ran–not away, toward me. He slammed into my legs and clung so hard his small fingers dug into my shoulders.

“Mommy, I thought I’d never see you again. I kept your picture. The one in my backpack. I never threw it

away.”

“I knew you wouldn’t leave me. I promise I’ll listen to you. I’ll study hard, and I’ll never eat candy again.”

He was smaller than I remembered. Or maybe I had just forgotten what it felt like to hold him.

I let him cry into my shoulder. I didn’t push him away.

But I didn’t hold him back either.

Mom reached for me–then stopped. Her hand hung in the air, like she wasn’t sure she was allowed to touch

me.
“Romy… I don’t know what to say. I don’t know if there’s anything I can say.”

Stellan stood beside her with a suitcase, unable to meet my eyes.

“Romy, I’m bringing Bram home tonight. We’ll move back in with you.”

I almost laughed. Instead, I blocked the doorway.

“I’m tired, and I don’t have the energy to entertain guests. You should leave.”

Mom’s eyes immediately filled with fresh tears.

“Guests? What are you talking about? I’m your mother. Stellan is your husband. Bram is your son. We’re the

people closest to you.”

I stared at her.

“I don’t have a husband or a son. They died three years ago.”

“As for my mother–she disowned me because I refused to surrender my work to my sister. So no, I don’t

have a mother either.”

“We’re strangers now. Don’t come back.”

As I started to close the door, Stellan jammed his hand against the frame.

“Romy, can you really abandon Bram and me?”

I looked at Stellan and thought about the last three years.

“Which one of us abandoned the other first, Stellan?”

“You had an affair with my sister. Then the two of you took Bram and staged your deaths because you were too afraid to face the consequences. You left me alone to grieve all three of you.”

“To stop me from discovering the truth, you fabricated leads and paid people to pose as criminals. You watched me get beaten and scarred as if my suffering were entertainment.”

“Tell me

honestly, Stellan. After everything you did, what makes you think you deserve forgiveness”