“I think we need to start by making sure they’re okay,” Claire said, her voice firm. “Lily and June. They don’t understand everything yet. They’re still confused, and I don’t want them to feel like they’re lost in the middle of this. We need to give them some time to adjust. They’ve been through so much, Ethan.”
Ethan nodded, but his eyes were filled with a depth of emotion Claire hadn’t seen before. It was a mix of guilt, pain, and an overwhelming desire to make things right.
“I know,” he said, his voice breaking slightly. “I just keep thinking about all the years we missed with them. All the moments… that could have been ours.”
“I know,” Claire whispered, her hand reaching across the table to gently squeeze his. “But we’re here now. We can’t change the past, but we can build a future for them. For us.”
Ethan took a deep breath, nodding again. “You’re right. But… what about Margaret? And the rest of the family? We can’t just let this go, can we?”
Claire’s chest tightened at the mention of Margaret. The woman who had pulled all the strings behind the scenes. The woman who had torn their family apart for her own twisted reasons. Claire didn’t know how to handle Margaret yet. She didn’t know what the right thing to do was.
“I don’t know,” Claire admitted, her voice heavy. “But I know one thing. I won’t let her get away with it. Not this time. We have to hold her accountable. She’s not just going to walk away from this.”
Ethan looked at her with a mixture of admiration and fear. “What do you mean? How far are you willing to go, Claire?”
Claire’s gaze hardened as she thought about the years of lies, the grief, the endless pain. Her heart was still heavy, but the fury that had been building in her for so long was now rising to the surface.
“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” Claire said, her voice unwavering. “I won’t let her—any of them—destroy our family. Not again. We’ll make sure the truth comes out, no matter what.”
Ethan nodded slowly, his expression grim. “Then we’ll fight. Together.”
