Chapter 5 - A Home Built on Guilt
The Cole estate sat on three acres of manicured lawn overlooking the Missouri River. It was a masterpiece of glass, steel, and white stone—a place built for architectural magazines, not for children.
At 4:00 p.m., Ethan’s private medical transport van arrived at the front circle. Sadie stepped out first, still wearing the oversized hoodie, though the hospital had given her a clean pair of grey sweatpants and a pair of yellow socks. She held Emma tightly against her chest, the baby now awake but quiet, her eyes tracking the grand columns of the house.
Ethan opened the massive glass front door. "Welcome home, Sadie."
Sadie didn't move past the foyer. She looked at the polished white marble floor, then down at her yellow socks. "Do we have to take our shoes off?"
"You can do whatever you want here, Sadie," Ethan said gently, crouching down to her eye level. "This is your house now."
"Where do the other kids sleep?" she asked, her eyes scanning the grand floating staircase.
"There are no other kids here. Just me. And now, you and Emma."
Sadie walked slowly toward the center of the living room, her small feet silent on the marble. She stopped in front of a massive floor-to-ceiling window that looked out over the river. "Mama said rich people have big windows because they're afraid of the dark. They want to see everything coming."
Ethan felt a chill go down his spine. "Your mama was a very smart woman."
"She was tired," Sadie corrected him, turning around to face him. She set Emma down carefully on the edge of a custom leather sofa, making sure the baby didn't roll. "Mr. Cole, are you going to keep us until the ninety days are over, or are you going to send us away when the news people stop talking about us?"
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Ethan walked over to the sofa, sitting on the opposite end so he wouldn't crowd her. "I made a terrible mistake seven years ago, Sadie. I broke a promise to your mother because I was greedy. I can't bring her back. But I promise you, on everything I own, that nobody is ever going to throw your formula away again. You stay here until you're grown up. Both of you."
Sadie stared at him for a long time, searching his face with that same terrifying focus from the emergency room. Finally, her shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch. "Emma needs her bottle at five. It has to be warm, or she spits it out."
