Chapter 15 - The House Becomes a Home AgainThe police took Ryan and Chloe away.
Neighbors watched in silence.
Some looked ashamed.
Others looked away.
Clara didn't care.
She carried Eleanor inside.
Every room felt haunted.
The furniture was still there.
The photographs were still there.
But the house felt different.
For the first time in years, Eleanor wasn't afraid to walk through her own hallway.
She touched the kitchen counter.
Her fingers trembled.
"This is where I used to make your pancakes."
Clara smiled through tears.
"I remember."
They reached the living room.
An old family photograph sat crooked on the wall.
Clara straightened it.
Three people smiled from a different lifetime.
Her father.
Her mother.
A younger Clara.
Eleanor stared at the picture.
"I lost so much."
Clara took her hand.
"Then let's stop losing."
Outside, the cage remained in the yard.
Clara looked through the window.
Tomorrow, it would be gone.
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But tonight, she wanted her mother to sleep in her own bed.
Safe.
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