Chapter 3 - A Desperate Reunion
Evelyn ignored the venomous taunt. Her eyes immediately darted down to the marble floor. She dropped to her knees, her rigid posture finally softening as she reached out to the little girl in the dirty pink pajamas.
Lily was shaking violently, clutching her small, reddened hand to her chest. A nasty, purplish bruise was already forming in the exact shape of a stiletto tip. Evelyn’s heart shattered into a million pieces. The absolute guilt of leaving her daughter behind in this house of monsters threatened to suffocate her.
With trembling hands, Evelyn reached out and gently pulled Lily into her chest. She wrapped her arms around the tiny girl, pressing Lily’s face into her shoulder to shield her from the cruelty of the room. Evelyn closed her eyes, resting her cheek against her daughter’s messy hair, breathing in the scent of her child.
"I've got you," Evelyn whispered, her voice cracking for the very first time. "I'm right here, baby. I'm right here."
Lily buried her wet face into the coarse fabric of Evelyn’s maid uniform. Her tiny fingers gripped the back of Evelyn’s shirt with desperate, crushing force, terrified that if she let go, her mother would vanish again.
"Mommy..." Lily sobbed quietly, her voice hoarse and broken. "You came back..."
"I came back," Evelyn murmured, rocking her gently. "And I'm never leaving you again."
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Above them, Vanessa let out an exasperated, theatrical sigh, rolling her eyes as if the beautiful, heartbreaking reunion happening at her feet was nothing more than a mild annoyance. She shifted her weight, clearly preparing to kick the maid out of the house for good. But suddenly, the temperature in the massive living room seemed to drop by ten degrees.
👉 Vanessa was about to demand they be thrown out, but someone else had just walked into the room.
