PART 2: THE SCARS SHE COULDN'T HIDE
The mansion was gone from Emma's life.
But Victoria wasn't.
For weeks after leaving, Emma woke up screaming.
Every night.
Every single night.
Daniel would rush into her room and find her curled into a corner, shaking.
"She's here," Emma whispered.
"Victoria is here."
Daniel held her close.
"No, sweetheart. She can't hurt you anymore."
But fear doesn't disappear just because danger is gone.
It lingers.
It hides.
It waits.
One afternoon, Daniel discovered something that broke his heart all over again.
Emma was eating lunch alone.
Carefully separating her food into tiny portions.
Saving most of it.
"Why aren't you eating?" Daniel asked.
Emma lowered her eyes.
"I thought maybe I should save some."
"For what?"
Her answer nearly destroyed him.
"In case I get punished again."
Daniel left the room and cried for the first time since his wife's funeral.
That evening, he made a promise.
Not to Victoria.
Not to himself.
To Emma.
"I won't just protect you," he said.
"I'll help you heal."
The next months were difficult.
Therapy sessions.
Long conversations.
Painful memories.
Slow progress.
But little by little, Emma began to return.
The laughter came back first.
Then the drawings.
Then the smile Daniel thought he had lost forever.
For the first time in years, the house no longer felt haunted.
May you like
It felt like a home.
What Daniel didn't know was that Victoria was planning one final act of revenge.
