I Sent Him to Prison, Now I'm Falling for His Brother novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: Let Her Finish

The Grand Lakeside ballroom had three chandeliers and four hundred guests.

I came in at nine-twenty in my cousin's green dress, with the invitation in one hand and the parole notice folded small in the other.

A man at the door checked a list.

"Name?"

"Nadine Corwin."

He checked it again, and his face changed.

"Ms. Hutton left you a ticket," he said, and waved me through.

Nobody stopped me.

Waiters passed with silver trays.

Women in long gowns turned their heads and turned them back.

Near the stage stood a table covered in framed photographs and a banner.

*SECOND CHANCES. Letters from our graduates.*

The first letter was in a frame at eye level.

*Dear Mrs. Stafford, Thank you for believing in me. I am working on myself every day. Luka.*

My ears rang.

Then the lights dimmed, and a spotlight found the stage.

Cornelia Stafford walked into it in her navy gown, to applause.

"Friends," she said. "Thank you for coming."

I found a place against the back wall, near the big doors.

"Nine years ago, my family faced a trial," she said, and her voice was warm and trembling and perfect. "A boy made a terrible mistake in the worst hour of his life. And a young woman was hurt."

A murmur went through the room.

"I will never stop praying for her."

She pressed a hand to her chest.

A woman near me wiped her eye.

"But I also believe," Cornelia said, "that a mistake is not a life. My son has served nine years. He has earned his GED, his college credits and his chaplain's trust. In three weeks he faces the parole board, and the foundation will give him a home, a job, and a second chance."

The room broke into applause.

Four hundred hands.

I had been on a witness stand with my mouth dry as paper, and these people were clapping.

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