Chapter 12 - LILY ASKED THE QUESTION NO ADULT COULD
Sebastian’s arrest changed the mansion.
Not immediately.
But silence began leaving the rooms.
Nathaniel ordered the west study curtains opened.
The portrait of Julian came down from the shadowed hallway and moved into the main library.
The forbidden rules disappeared.
Lily noticed before anyone else.
“Why can I go in the west room now?” she asked.
Nathaniel considered inventing a simple answer.
Claire saw it.
“Tell her the small truth,” she said.
Nathaniel looked at Lily.
“Because I was afraid of things inside that room.”
“Monsters?”
“Memories.”
Lily thought about it.
“Are memories worse?”
“Sometimes.”
She nodded as though that made perfect sense.
Then came the harder question.
“Did the bad man hurt your brother?”
Nathaniel’s jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“Is that why you’re sad?”
“Yes.”
Lily climbed onto the chair opposite him.
“You know what Mom says?”
Nathaniel looked toward Claire.
“I suspect I am about to.”
“Being sad means you loved somebody for real.”
Nathaniel went completely still.
Claire had never actually said those exact words.
But she wasn’t about to correct her.
Lily reached across the table.
This time Nathaniel offered his scarred hand before she had to ask.
That tiny gesture almost broke Claire.
Later, the hospital informed her that Lily’s response to treatment had improved enough that transplant evaluation could move forward sooner than expected.
Nathaniel offered immediately to cover whatever the insurance did not.
Claire shook her head.
“You cannot buy every problem away.”
“No.”
“Then let me handle some of my own.”
Nathaniel studied her.
Then nodded.
“What can I do?”
Claire smiled slightly.
May you like
“Drive us to the appointment.”
For a man accustomed to solving problems with enormous resources, being asked simply to show up seemed to affect him more deeply than money ever could.
Related Stories
