- “Elias, stop.”
He ignored her.
His eyes remained on Talia.
- “Pack your things.”
Talia stared at him.
- “What?”
- “You’re done here.”
For the first time, her composure cracked.
- “You’re firing me?”
- “Immediately.”
Margaret’s voice sharpened.
- “Elias Carter, you will not do this.”
Harper had gone completely still against his chest.
Her eyes were open but empty, fixed on the far wall.
Talia saw it.
Elias saw Talia seeing it.
And because shame has a cruel instinct for survival, he made his voice harder.
- “You were hired to clean this house, Miss Brooks. Not experiment on my child.”
Talia’s eyes filled, but no tears fell.
- “I never experimented on her.”
- “Leave.”
For several seconds, no one moved.
Snow tapped softly against the nursery window.
The one-eared rabbit lay on the rug where Harper had dropped it.
Talia looked at Harper, and her face changed into something so tender that Elias had to look away.
- “Harper,” she whispered.
The child did not respond.
Talia swallowed.
- “It’s okay, sweetheart. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
