Chapter 4 - A Truce in the Nursery
By midnight,the estate was locked down tighter than a federal penitentiary.Guards patrolled the hallways in shifts,and every exterior door was double-bolted.
Hannah walked up the grand staircase,her legs aching with exhaustion.She pushed open the door to the triplet' adjoining nursery.The room was dark.save for the faint glow of a nightlight shaped like a spaceship.
All three boys were crammed into Lucas's twin bed,huddled together under a mound of heavy blankets.They looked smaller now.stripped of their armor of defiance.
Hannah quietly stepped into the room and sat down on the edge of the mattress.
"Go away," Lucas whispered into the dark,his voice lacks its usual venom."We know you're going to leave tomorrow anyway.They all leave."
"I'm not leaving,Lucas,Hannah said softly,Reaching out to pull the blanket up over Mason's shoulders.
According peeked out from beneath the covers,his gray eyes shining with unshed tears."Was that man going to hurt us?"
Hannah's heart broke a little.She slid off the bed and sat cross-legged on the plush rug right beside them,bringing ourselves to their eye level.
"Your dad won't let anyone hurt you.I won't let anyone hurt you either,Hannah promised,Her voice is steady and warm."I know you're angry."I know you miss your mom.It's okay to be mad at the world.But throwing vases and terrorizing the staff isn't going to bring her back."
Mason sniffled,wiping his nose with the back of his sleeve."Dad doesn't talk to us anymore.He just looks at us like we're glass ornaments that are about to break."
"Your dad is carrying a mountain on his shoulders,Hannah explained gently.Sometimes,strong people don't know how to ask for help.They just build walls so no one sees them bleeding."
Lucas stared at her for a long moment,studying her face in the dim light of the spaceship nightlight.
"You're not like the others,Lucas admitted reluctantly."You didn't cry when the vase broke."
"Crying wastes energy,Hannah smiled faintly."Besides,I saved forty-three dollars to my name and an eviction notice.A broken vase is nothing compared to New York real estate."
A small,genuine smile finally tugged at the corner of Lucas's mouth.
"Go to sleep,boys.Tomorrow is a new day.We're going to start fresh."
As Hannah stood up to leave,Lucas's small hand reached out and caught the hem of her cardigan.
Can...Can you leave the door open?"Theo asked quietly."
May you like
"Doors are staying open,Hannah promised.
Down the hall,Standing silently in the shadows of the dimly lit corridor,Dominic Vale lowered his hand from the doorknob.He had watched the entire exchange through the cracked door.The tightness in his chest—a knot of grief and stress that had lived there for six months—loosened just a fraction.
