“God sees the heart, mother,” Ada said softly, leaning slightly closer to the microphone. “And He sees that for twenty years, you loved one child by consuming the life of the other. You did not raise a family; you raised a parasite, and you fed her my future.”

Rose slumped against the counter, her pride finally completely shattered. “What are you going to do to us?” she whispered, staring at Ada’s flawless coat, her expensive watch, and the unmistakable dignity of a woman who had built herself from absolute nothingness. “Are you just here to watch us suffer?”

“No,” Ada said. “I am here to tell you that I have hired a court-appointed public defense coordinator to ensure your legal rights are strictly respected. You will receive a fair trial under the law. Not a penny less, and not a penny more.”

“A public defender?!” Rose shrieked. “They don’t care about us! We will go to prison!”

“Then you will learn the value of things you did not earn,” Ada said.

She stood up slowly, smoothing the front of her coat. She picked up her leather handbag, looking down at the two women who had once thought they could steal her destiny with a single bank transfer. They had taken her money, but they had never been capable of taking her mind, her discipline, or her resilience.

“Ada! Don’t walk away! Ada!” her mother begged, beating her hands against the glass as the guards stepped forward to control the noise.

Ada turned her back to the glass window, walked through the heavy security doors, and stepped out into the bright afternoon sunlight. The air outside was clean and fresh. She got into her car, adjusted her mirror, and drove toward the new clinic where hundreds of patients were waiting for a real doctor—a woman who knew exactly what it cost to survive.