- “No one authorized anything formal. I didn’t make her do anything. She reached for the rabbit, and when she leaned forward, I supported her. Then she—”
- “You are not her therapist.”
The words sliced through the room.
Talia went pale.
Harper’s lower lip trembled.
- “No,” Talia said. “I’m not. But I have training.”
- “Training?”
- “I’m finishing my pediatric physical therapy certification. I worked in a rehab clinic before—”
- “You were hired as household help.”
Margaret appeared behind him in the hallway, drawn by the raised voices.
- “Elias,” she warned.
He did not turn.
Talia’s chin lifted slightly.
- “I know what I was hired as.”
- “Then remember it.”
The moment the words left his mouth, something in the room changed.
Margaret inhaled sharply.
Talia looked as if he had slapped her, though her eyes remained steady.
Harper made a small distressed sound and pressed herself closer to Talia.
That should have stopped him.
It did not.
Because Elias Carter, who had spent eighteen months drowning in helplessness, finally saw something he could control.
He crossed the room and reached for Harper.
