THE MAFIA BOSS'S SON BURST INTO TEARS WHEN THE MAID'S LITTLE BOY CONFESSED—BUT THE BROKEN MUSIC BOX HID A DEADLY SECRET
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Chapter 13 / 15
Chapter 13 - THE HOUSE THAT LEARNED TO LAUGH
A year passed.
The Mercer estate changed.
Not all at once.
But slowly.
The armed guards disappeared from the family wing.
The business meetings moved elsewhere.
The household became quieter in a different way.
Not the silence of fear.
The quiet of ordinary life.
Cole began spending more time with Noah.
He attended school events.
Helped with homework.
Learned how to make pancakes.
Badly.
Noah laughed when the first batch burned.
Eli laughed harder.
Elena stood in the kitchen doorway watching them.
Cole looked up.
“Don't say anything.”
She smiled.
“I wasn't going to.”
“You're smiling.”
“Because the pancakes look like charcoal.”
Noah burst into laughter.
Cole sighed.
“Everyone's a critic.”
May you like
Elena laughed.
And for a moment, the mansion felt like a home.
