He sent it.
No reply.
He called his driver.
- “Find Miss Brooks. She left the house minutes ago. She may be walking toward Charles Street or the bus stop. Go now.”
Then he stood in the foyer, phone in hand, staring at the screen as though his will alone could make three dots appear.
Nothing.
Behind him, upstairs, Harper made no sound.
The house seemed to grow larger around him.
Colder.
Emptier.
A minute passed.
Then two.
Then five.
His driver called.
Elias answered before the first ring finished.
- “Did you find her?”
- “Sir, I see someone matching her description at the bus stop near the corner. She’s getting on the bus.”
Elias’s heart dropped.
- “Stop her.”
- “Sir?”
- “Tell her—”
He stopped.
What could he tell her?
That the man who had humiliated her now regretted it?
That the father who had fired her for healing his daughter needed her to return and save him from himself?
That his pride had lasted less than ten minutes before collapsing under the weight of what he had done?
- “Tell her Harper said her name,” Elias whispered.
There was silence on the line.
Then the driver said:
- “Yes, sir.”
Elias stood in the foyer, unable to move, listening to his own breathing.
A moment later, his phone buzzed.
Not a call.
A message.
From Talia.
For several seconds, he could not make himself open it.
When he finally did, the words blurred.
“I heard her. That is why leaving is breaking my heart.”
Elias closed his eyes.
Another message appeared.
“But I will not come back to a house where loving that child is treated like a crime.”
His knees nearly gave out.
He typed with shaking hands.
“You’re right.”
Then:
“I was cruel.”
