Ivy called her father immediately, unable to hold the joy in for even the length of composing a proper text back, and his voice on the other end carried a lightness she hadn't heard in longer than she could remember.

"Nine years," he said, something disbelieving threading through his words. "Nine years, and today they handed me a formal letter acknowledging the conviction was wrongful, full reinstatement, back pay calculated for the years I lost. I don't know how to hold something this big, Ivy. I've spent so long just trying to survive each day, I forgot what it felt like to actually look forward to one."

"You deserve every...