Chapter 14

I spent my days curled up on the window seat, watching the snow fall. Nathan would try to engage, but I could barely muster the energy to respond. The silence felt safer than whatever this twisted reality had become.

“What would make you happy?” he asked one evening, his voice dripping with false concern.

I glanced up from my book. “I miss Lucy. Could I see her?”

He smiled that practiced smile. “You’re still recovering. Why not have her visit instead?”

My heart skipped – a possibility I hadn’t dared hope for. “Really?”

He brushed my hair back, a gesture that once brought comfort but now made my skin crawl. “Anything for you,

sweetheart.”

True to his word, he brought Lucy up the mountain the next day.

She rushed to hug me, her warmth so familiar it hurt. “Emma! God, so this is where you’ve been hiding – some fancy

mountain retreat!”

and terror warring in my

her my carefully folded note, Nathan’s casual question stopped me cold: “How’s your father’s investment working out?”

beamed, oblivious to the undercurrent. “Dad’s so excited, he convinced the whole

on us!” She laughed, the sound echoing off the high ceilings. “Or we’re

wavered. “Of course not. Emma’s friends are

meaning was crystal clear.

to me, all warmth and concern. “Isn’t it nice having friends visit, darling?”

I nodded mechanically.

days later, he brought

you, you were hooked

gambling father, brother in prison,

it. Not for any

powder making everything look deceptively peaceful. Our laughter carried across the grounds – probably the only genuine sound this

06:49

of Love, Seven

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