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!”

her tight, joy and terror warring in my

carefully folded note, Nathan’s casual question stopped me

oblivious to the undercurrent. “Dad’s so excited, he convinced the whole family to go all in!

the sound echoing off the high ceilings. “Or

“Of course not.

was crystal clear.

turned to me, all warmth and concern.

I nodded mechanically.

days later, he brought Sarah.

seeing me. “Last time I saw you, you were hooked up to machines. Thank God

gambling father, brother in prison, autistic son.

Not for

deceptively peaceful. Our laughter carried across the grounds – probably the only genuine sound this place

06:49

Love, Seven Minutes fru

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