His grip tightened on the wheelchair as his heart pounded violently.
“What… what are you talking about, kid?” he asked, barely finding his voice.
Sophia slowly lifted her head for the first time in days.
Something flickered in her eyes.
Hope?
Fear?
Recognition?
“I saw it, sir…”the boy said, swallowing. “I stay behind your house… I hide there… and one night… I saw her…”
Before he could finish, a sharp voice cut through the moment.
“Raymond, don’t listen to him!”
Natalie’s heels clicked quickly as she approached. She looked flawless as always—but her expression was tight, strained.
“That boy is lying,”
she said, gripping Raymond’s arm. “He probably just wants money. You know how they are.”
The boy shook his head, tears forming.
“No, ma’am… I’m telling the truth… she was always kind to me… the girl… and her mom too…”
That word hit hard.
His late wife.
The only woman he had ever truly loved.
Sophia whispered weakly:
“Dad… I… I remember something…”
Natalie leaned in quickly.
“Sweetheart, you’re confused… it’s the medication…”
“What medication?”
the boy suddenly interrupted.
Silence.
Even the air seemed to stop moving.