Chapter 9 - Listening to the brave five-year-old boy explain how they survived years of severe hardship hiding in the shadows far away from corrupt high society circles.
The heavy mahogany doors clicked shut, plunging the VIP salon back into a profound, suffocating silence broken only by the crackle of the fireplace.
Ethan turned back toward the velvet sofa where little Leo sat swinging his legs in his miniature navy blue tuxedo shoes.
"Are you really my daddy?" Leo asked quietly, his big brown eyes studying the man standing before him with cautious curiosity.
"Yes, buddy. I am," Ethan answered, his voice thick with emotion as he sat on the edge of the sofa next to his son.
"Mommy said you were in a big glass castle where bad people wouldn't let you see us," Leo explained with heartbreaking innocence.
Ethan felt a sharp pang in his chest, realizing how much poison and deceit his own family had fed him while his child suffered.
"Mommy worked very hard every day to keep you safe, didn't she?" Ethan asked, looking over at Clara standing by the door.
"We moved a lot," Leo nodded solemnly. "In tiny apartments where the rain leaked through the ceiling, but Mommy always smiled."
Clara turned her head away quickly, a single tear escaping down her cheek as the painful memories of those dark years resurfaced.
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Ethan stood up, walking across the room to stand before Clara, his eyes searching her face for any trace of forgiveness.
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