« Il ne peut pas accourir à chaque fois que toi ou cet enfant vous sentez mal. »
La voix de Sarah baissa.
« Laisse Daniel en dehors de ça. »
Helen sourit.
« Pourquoi ? Parce que les morts ne peuvent pas se défendre ? »
Lily se remit à pleurer.
Helen la regarda.
« Oh, s’il vous plaît. »
Elle montra du doigt le steak brûlé qui se trouvait encore sur le tapis.
« Il y a des enfants qui en seraient reconnaissants. »
Sarah fixa le vide.
« Ensuite, tu le manges. »
Helen s’arrêta.
Un capo, près du bout de la table, toussa dans sa main pour dissimuler ce qui aurait pu être un rire.
Robert l’a entendu.
Sa colère s’intensifia.
« Cette famille avait l’habitude de comprendre la hiérarchie. »
Sarah retourna la pièce une nouvelle fois.
« Et apparemment, la hiérarchie consiste à nourrir un petit-enfant et à en humilier un autre. »
« Elle n’est pas comme Ethan. »
Sarah s’arrêta.
“Qu’est-ce que cela signifie?”
Helen regarda Robert.
Encore une erreur.
Sarah s’approcha.
“Qu’est-ce que cela signifie?”
Robert répondit.
« Ethan écoute. »
Sarah fixa le vide.
« Et Lily ? »
« Elle porte le sang de Daniel, mais aucune de sa discipline. »
Le visage de Sarah s’est figé.
« C’est la fille de Daniel. »
« C’est précisément là le problème. »
Le silence se fit dans la pièce.
Robert s’en est rendu compte.
Trop tard.
Sarah a posé la pièce sur la table.
« Quel problème ? »
Robert n’a rien dit.
Ethan avait l’air effrayé.
Lily hid behind Sarah’s leg.
Helen is moving forward.
“You’re distorting the words.”
“Non.”
Sarah looked Robert straight in the eyes.
“He simply said that the fact that my daughter was Daniel’s child was a problem.”
Robert’s face hardened.
“He confided something in her that he should have given to adults.”
“A silver coin.”
“Not the room.”
To be.
Another misstep.
Sarah waited.
Robert closed his mouth.
She gave a slight smile.
“Thank you again.”
Robert stared at her.
Sarah bent down and picked up the coin.
“Where is NORTH opening?”
Helen sneered.
“That doesn’t open anything.”
Ethan murmurs:
“The apple door.”
All the adults were looking at him.
Sarah turned around.
“Which apple door?”
The boy vaguely pointed towards the north side of the estate.
“The one that was located under the old printing works.”
Robert takes himself.
“Enough.”
Sarah’s bodyguards immediately sprang into action.
He stopped.
Ethan continued.
“Uncle Daniel took us there.”
“When?”
“Before his death.”
“What did he show you?”
Ethan shook his head.
“He wouldn’t let me in.”
Sarah looked at Lily.
The little girl moved even closer.
“Did Dad take you inside?”
Lily nodded.
“What was it?”
She thought.
“Boxes.”
“Which boxes?”
“Black people.”
Robert’s face fell.
Sarah saw it.
“Helen too.”
Lily continued.
“And a man.”
Sarah narrowed her eyes.
“What a man?”
The little girl frowned.
Then he pointed at Robert.
“Grandpa called him Mr. Vale.”
Robert closed his eyes.
Sarah knew the name.
Marcus Vale had once transported weapons for the Bellini family.
Then Daniel had banished him from the estate seven years earlier.
No explanation had ever been given publicly.
Sarah looked at Robert.
“You met Marcus Vale in the orchard room.”
Robert said nothing.
Ethan murmurs:
“Uncle Daniel saw them too.”
Sarah turned around.
“And?”
Ethan’s voice fell silent.
“He really got angry.”
Robert pushed his chair back.
“That’s enough for tonight.”
Sarah looked at him.
“Non.”
Her voice was almost soft.
“You spent months deciding when my daughter eats.”
She picked up the silver coin.
“Now, I’m the one who decides when you leave.”
Robert stared at her.
Then to Helen.
For the first time, Sarah saw something happen between them.
No anger.
Emergency.
They weren’t afraid of the play.
They were afraid of what was still hidden beneath the orchard.
Disclaimer: This story is fictional and created for entertainment purposes only. Any names, characters, places, or events are fictitious or used fictitiously. No real person or organization is intended to be portrayed.
