Chapter 2 - Aunt Ruth Stands By My Broken Heart
Aunt Ruth sat on the edge of the hospital chapel bench, holding my cold hand between her calloused palms. She had driven six straight hours through the night from West Virginia without stopping for coffee or rest.
"You're not alone, Sienna, even if those miserable people in Richmond pretend you don't exist," Aunt Ruth whispered fiercely. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen from weeping over the loss of Julian, Maya, and little Leo.
"Dad couldn't even pause his dinner party for five minutes," I murmured, my voice cracking with bitter exhaustion. Aunt Ruth let out a harsh, incredulous breath that sounded like a dry autumn leaf snapping in half.
"Your father has always loved status and convenience more than his own flesh and blood," she said bitterly. "And Eleanor is a spoiled parasite who has never worked a hard day in her life."
I looked down at the silver wedding band on my left ring finger, turning it slowly around. The hospital chapel was dead silent except for the distant hum of fluorescent lights overhead.
"They think I'm completely broken, Aunt Ruth," I said quietly, lifting my chin. "They think I'll just sit in a dark room and fade away into nothingness."
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Aunt Ruth gripped my fingers tighter, a fierce, protective fire flashing in her aging eyes. "Then you prove them wrong, honey, but you do it silently and with absolute surgical precision."
We sat together in the quiet chapel as dawn began to paint the Richmond sky in bruised shades of purple. That was the exact moment my grief transformed into a cold, unbreakable resolve.
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