Chapter 4 - The Knelled Father
Ethan dropped to one knee beside the velvet armchair, his imposing height leveling with Emma as she sat with the baby. He reached out, his large, calloused hand moving with a gentleness that seemed almost impossible for a man of his size, and softly touched Leo's tiny, open fist.
“How did you know what he needed?” Ethan asked, his deep voice thick with an overwhelming, tender emotion.
Emma hesitated, her breath hitching as she looked from the baby to the man kneeling beside her. The vulnerability in his eyes was raw, a stark contrast to the distant, iron-willed patriarch she had served for the past year. She looked down, her fingers delicately adjusting the corner of the white blanket near her collar, and as she did, the soft daylight caught the glint of gold around her neck.
Suspending from a fine chain was an ornate, antique locket.
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With a trembling thumb, Emma clicked the small clasp open. The gold casing parted, revealing a tiny, faded photograph of Ethan’s late wife, Victoria, smiling out from behind the glass.
Ethan’s breath hitched. His eyes locked onto the locket, the recognition hitting him with the force of an physical blow. The soft, emotional gratitude that had briefly warmed his face vanished, replaced instantly by a sharp, intense alarm that made his jaw tighten.
