Chapter 5 — The Truth Behind the Absence
Inside the apartment, no one sat down.
No one relaxed.
Even Biscuit had gone silent.
The man finally stepped inside.
One of his men closed the door behind him.
Locking it.
Emily tensed immediately.
But Margaret raised one hand.
It’s fine.
The man looked at Emily again.
“I’m sorry you were pulled into this.”
Emily crossed her arms.
“I didn’t get pulled into anything. I found a woman in the snow.”
His expression softened slightly.
“That’s how it starts.”
Margaret exhaled slowly.
Then signed.
You didn’t come for Christmas.
He nodded.
“I didn’t.”
A pause.
“I was stopping a situation in Buffalo.”
Margaret’s eyes sharpened.
That sentence meant something.
More than Emily understood.
The man continued quietly:
“They escalated faster than expected. I cut communication for twelve hours.”
Margaret signed firmly.
You always do that.
“I had to.”
She stepped closer.
You always say that.
Silence.
Then—
the man’s voice dropped.
“…there were threats made against you.”
Margaret froze.
Emily immediately looked between them.
“What kind of threats?”
The man didn’t answer.
Margaret did.
Her hands moved slowly.
Not physical.
A pause.
Control.
Another pause.
Always control.
The man finally admitted:
“They used your name to pressure me.”
Margaret’s eyes hardened.
And suddenly Emily understood—
this wasn’t a normal family.
This was power.
Heavy, quiet, dangerous power.
But what shocked Emily most…
May you like
was that Margaret was not afraid of it.
She was tired of it.
