Chapter 4
That night, Frank called Nadia.
“I won’t pressure you,” he said. “This has to be your choice.”
There was a long pause.
Then Nadia said, “I want to do it.”
Her voice was small at first, then stronger.
“I’m tired of being quiet.”
Two days later, Royce was arrested.
The Camden family exploded exactly the way Frank expected.
Patricia cried that they had gone too far.
Monica accused Talia of betraying her own blood.
Relatives Frank barely knew sent messages about forgiveness, loyalty, and family honor.
Frank saved every message.
Detective Grant had told him pressure from relatives could matter.
So he documented all of it.
Then something unexpected happened.
Other people started talking.
A cousin apologized for doubting them after Nadia told her what she had seen.
Three former workers from Royce’s construction crew contacted Frank through Detective Grant. Each had stories of Royce losing control, using intimidation, and calling it leadership.
None of them had reported it before.
Now they were willing to give statements.
The case became stronger than Royce expected.
His attorney first tried to call it an accident.
A reach across the table.
A misunderstood moment.
A family dispute.
Then the medical evidence came in.
The fracture pattern.
The grip bruising.
The doctor’s report.
Nadia’s statement.
Frank’s statement.
Talia’s statement.
The former employees.
The silence around Royce began to collapse.
By January, Nancy’s cast came off.
Her arm was pale and weak underneath, but Dr. Reeves said it had healed well. Nancy squeezed a little therapy ball every evening while watching cartoons, determined to make it strong again.
“See, Daddy?” she said one night, flexing her tiny arm. “All better.”
Frank smiled.
“All better.”
But he knew the arm was the easy part.
The harder healing happened in the small moments.
Nancy asking if spilling something made her bad.
Nancy apologizing when she dropped a crayon.
Nancy checking Frank’s face when she made a mistake.
Every time, he answered the same way.
“Accidents happen. You are safe.”
Eventually, she began to believe him.
The trial was scheduled for February.
The day before it began, the prosecutor, Jennifer Park, called Frank and Talia into her office.
“Royce’s attorney is offering a plea,” she said.
Talia sat very still.
May you like
“What kind?”
“He pleads guilty to assault on a minor. Six months in county jail, two years probation, mandatory counseling, and a no-contact order for Nancy. He also has to make a statement accepting responsibility in court.”
