Chapter 8 - THE HOUSE OF GLASS AND LIGHT
Three months later.
I stood in the kitchen of a massive estate in the Hamptons.
The sunlight poured through floor-to-ceiling windows, reflecting off the ocean outside.
I wasn't wearing a catering uniform.
I was wearing a soft cashmere sweater, holding a mug of tea.
I still measured my life in numbers, but they were different numbers now.
How many seashells Lily collected on the beach.
How many stories Marcus read to her before bed.
How many times a day I caught myself smiling when I thought of David, instead of crying.
Claudia’s trial was scheduled for the spring. The evidence on the USB drive was airtight.
Not only had she caused David's death, but Marcus's private investigators had tracked down Thomas, the son she had sold.
He was a school teacher in Ohio, completely unaware of his lineage. Marcus had quietly reached out to him, and they were slowly building a bridge.
The Cole family was healing.
"Mama! Look!"
Lily ran into the kitchen, her bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor.
She was wearing a brand new, bright red winter coat.
It was completely unnecessary indoors, but she refused to take it off.
Marcus followed closely behind her, looking utterly exhausted but happier than I had ever seen him.
"She insisted," Marcus chuckled, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"It has pockets, Mama!" Lily announced, shoving her hands deep into the sides.
"I see that," I smiled.
I looked at Marcus.
"Thank you."
He shook his head. "Don't thank me, Rosa. You brought the light back into this house. I'm just lucky you let me be part of it."
Lily pulled Bun Bun out of one of her new pockets.
Marcus had offered to buy her a thousand new toys. He had offered to have a master seamstress fix the rabbit's missing ear.
But Lily had refused.
"He likes his ear like that," she had insisted. "It makes him special."
And Marcus had simply nodded, understanding completely.
Because we were all a little broken.
We all had missing pieces.
I walked over to the counter and picked up a silver picture frame.
Inside was the photo of David I had found in his coat.
Next to it, I had placed a new photo.
May you like
Me, Marcus, and Lily, standing on the beach at sunset.
"You did good, David," I whispered, touching the glass. "We're safe."
