Chapter 6 - THE NIGHT MARK COULDN'T SLEEP That night, the mansion was silent again.
But it was a different silence.
Clara slept in her father's bedroom.
Mark sat beside her bed.
Every few minutes, he checked her breathing.
He couldn't stop seeing the staircase.
The fall.
Elena's body flying across the marble.
His daughter's tiny fingers reaching for safety.
He blamed himself.
He had spent years telling himself that working harder was the same as loving harder.
It wasn't.
He had missed birthdays.
School events.
Bedtime stories.
Small moments.
Moments that could never be recovered.
Clara stirred.
“Daddy?”
Mark immediately leaned forward.
“I'm here.”
“Where Mommy?”
He froze.
There was no easy answer.
“She needs some time away.”
Clara looked confused.
“Did I do bad?”
Mark's heart shattered.
“No, sweetheart.”
He kissed her forehead.
“You did nothing wrong.”
Across the hallway, Elena sat alone in the kitchen.
Her shoulder hurt.
Her eyes were exhausted.
She considered resigning.
This family had nearly destroyed itself.
But then she remembered Clara's tiny arms around her neck.
And she knew she couldn't abandon the child.
May you like
Not now.
Not after everything.
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