Chapter 6 - The Shadows of Fear
Despite the safety and comfort of the Vale Estate, trauma did not disappear overnight.
Two weeks into their stay, a severe thunderstorm rolled across the valley. High winds whipped through the pine trees, rattling the glass windows of the manor house, while thunder boomed like cannon fire across the sky.
At 2:00 AM, Grant was awakened by the sound of quiet sobbing echoing down the hallway.
He threw on a robe and hurried into the children’s wing.
When he walked into the nursery, he found the room empty. He moved to Sadi’s bedroom. Her bed was unmade, but Sadi was not in it.
Panic flared in Grant’s chest. "Sadi?"
He heard a small rustle coming from the walk-in closet.
Grant walked over and slowly opened the closet door.
Inside, squeezed into the darkest corner beneath a row of hanging coats, sat Sadi. She was sitting on the floor, holding Maisie tightly against her chest, wrapped in a heavy blanket. She was hyperventilating, her eyes wide with terror, staring at the closet door like a cornered animal.
"Sadi, hey," Grant said softly, dropping to his knees on the carpet outside the closet. "It’s okay. It’s just thunder."
"Aunt Darlene used to lock us in the cellar when it stormed," Sadi sobbed, pulling Maisie closer. "She said if we made noise during a storm, the house would burn down and nobody would come for us."
Grant felt a surge of profound, righteous fury toward Darlene, but he forced his face to remain calm, soft, and loving.
"Aunt Darlene isn't here, Sadi," Grant said gently. "She will never, ever come back. Nobody is going to lock you in a cellar, and nobody is going to hurt you."
"Are you going to send us away when the storm stops?" Sadi wept. "CPS said we’re only temporary. They said rich people get tired of taking care of other people’s kids."
Grant looked at the two terrified girls huddled in the dark closet. He realized then that providing a warm house and expensive clothes wasn't enough. He needed to earn her complete, unshakeable trust.
Instead of ordering her out, Grant climbed into the closet with them.
He sat down on the carpeted floor inside the narrow closet, pulling his knees up, sitting right beside Sadi in the dark.
Sadi blinked in surprise. "What are you doing?"
"If you feel safer in the closet tonight, then this is where we’re going to sit," Grant said simply. He pulled a small flashlight from his robe pocket, turned it on, and pointed it at the ceiling, creating a warm, glowing star of light above them.
"You don't have to leave the closet until you’re ready," Grant said softly. "And as for sending you away... Sadi, I am fighting every single day in court to make sure you and Maisie never have to leave this house again."
Sadi looked at the billionaire sitting crammed inside a closet next to her, holding a flashlight like a campfire.
Slowly, the tension drained from her body. She leaned her head against Grant’s arm, holding her sleeping sister in her lap.
"You really mean it?" Sadi asked softly.
May you like
"I swear on my life," Grant promised.
They stayed in the closet for two hours, listening to the rain, until Sadi finally fell fast asleep against Grant’s side.
