Her face was blank.
Amelia’s scarf hung limp from her hand.
Margaret looked at Elias with tears running down her cheeks.
- “You fool,” she whispered.
He flinched.
- “I was protecting her.”
Margaret’s voice shook.
- “No. You were protecting yourself.”
Elias said nothing.
- “That young woman did what no doctor, no expert, and no amount of your money could do. She reached Harper. She brought her back. And because you could not stand that someone else found the door before you did, you slammed it shut in your daughter’s face.”
- “Stop.”
- “No.”
Margaret stepped closer, Harper held against her shoulder.
- “You need to hear this. Harper laughed today. She moved today. She spoke today. And the moment she reached for the person who made her feel safe, you ripped her away.”
Elias’s throat tightened.
- “I didn’t know.”
Margaret’s expression hardened.
- “That has been your excuse for eighteen months.”
He stared at Harper.
Her face was turned away from him.
