Chapter 2 - The House of Echoes
The heavy oak doors of the mansion closed behind Elena two hours later, but her presence seemed to linger in every corner of the estate.
Dominic sat in his vast, leather-lined study, a glass of amber whiskey untouched on the mahogany desk before him. The house was quiet again. A crushing, suffocating quiet.
Around 8:00 PM, Dominic walked down the long, carpeted hallway to the girls' bedroom. The door was cracked open. Inside, a single nightlight cast a soft blue glow across the mural of stars painted on the ceiling.
Lucia, Valentina, and Mia were huddled together in the largest bed, under a mountain of blankets. They weren't crying. They never cried. They just stared at the empty space near the doorway where Elena used to sit and read them bedtime stories.
Dominic pushed the door open all the way.
"Girls," he said softly, his voice rough with exhaustion. He knelt beside the bed, feeling awkward in his expensive suit. "It's time for sleep."
None of them looked at him. Mia turned her face into Valentina’s shoulder. Lucia pulled the blanket higher up her chin.
"I know you miss her," Dominic continued, hating how weak he sounded. "We... we will find someone else. A professional. Someone better."
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Valentina turned her head slowly. Her dark eyes, so identical to Isabella’s, locked onto Dominic’s face. There was no warmth in them. Only a cold, piercing judgment that a four-year-old child had no right possessing. She didn't say a word, but her look communicated a devastating truth: You drove away the only person who brought us back.
Dominic stood up slowly, his legs feeling heavy, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him with a silent click.
