Chapter 4
As Ethan’s words hung in the air, a heavy silence filled the car. He glanced at Claire in the marview mirror, his frustration evident.
“Claire, I’m talking to you. Did you hear me?”–
Finally, Claire turned to face him, her voice steady as she spoke the longest sentence she’d uttered since her release.
“According to the National Prison Act, Article 48, inmates are entitled to meet with family or guardians during their incarceration.“3
“Inmates typically get a visit once a month, each lasting from half an hour to an hour”
“1 served five years, a total of sixty months. I was supposed to see my family sixty times. Yet, not once did I get a visit.”
“If your parents missed me so much, why didn’t they visit? Were they so busy they couldn’t spare even half an hour each month?”
ham blade.
Her voice was calm, but every word pierced through Ethan’s fabricated story like a sharp
Ethan’s eyes betrayed a mix of panic and guilt. The anger he had been ready to unleash was caught in his throat, unable to pass.!
Avoiding her piercing gaze, Ethan’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles whitening with the pressure.
“It’s it’s just that you were too much trouble. Mom and Dad thought it was best for you to stay there and learn to mend your ways. They were thinking of your best interest
For her own good, indeed.
“Thinking of her best interest” meant taking the fall for Vanessa, enduring the harshness of prison life.D
Claire could barely muster the energy to care anymore.
- re. She t
tumed her gaze out the window, not wanting to look at Ethan any longer.!!
Soon, the car pulled into the Linwood family estate’s garage.”
Ethan seemed pleased, grabbing a shopping bag from the backseat before quickly heading inside. He stopped abruptly, as if remembering Claire, and tumed back with an awkward smile still lingering on his face
“Go change into something appropriate for the party,” he instructed, before disappearing inside without another glance.
After five long years, this house still felt alien to Claire. It had never felt like home, lacking even the smallest hint of warmth. The orphanage, in contrast, had been more welcoming.
There, she shared a sunlit dorm room with others. Sunlight would flood the space each morning, creating a cozy atmosphere. She loved the sun–drenched scent of her blanket, a rare comfort that reminded her of home.
But returning to what should have been her home, she realized it wasn’t the sunlit warmth she longed for, but the damp, stale smell of neglect.
She opened the door to her room.!!
It was small, windowless, and crowded with boxes. The only fumiture was a folding cot and an old desk.
This storeroom, cold in winter and hot in summer, had been her bedroom for three years at the Linwood estate.
Ethan had mentioned wearing a proper dress.
She had never o
rowned a dress.!
Her wardrobe consisted of her old high school uniform, worn year–round. Even the T–shirt and jeans she wore now were bought with her own eamings from summer jobs, costing just over twenty dollars combined.
She remembered the day she proudly showed off her new outfit to Ethan, hoping for approval. He had simply frowned in disapproval.
“What on earth are you wearing? Can’t you dress more like Vanessa, with some elegance? Take it off and throw it away. Don’t embarrass the Linwood family
