The police led Margaret down the grand staircase, her manic protests echoing through the marble halls until the heavy front doors slammed shut behind her.
The office was quiet again.
Ethan walked over to the sofa, falling to his knees before Ava. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, resting his head in her lap as he wept openly for the first time in his life—grieving the monster he had called a mother, and the terrible suffering his sweet wife had endured under his own roof.
Ava ran her trembling fingers through his hair, her tears dripping onto his back.
“It’s over, Ethan,” Ava whispered softly, her voice filled with a quiet, unbreakable strength. “It’s finally over.”
Lena stepped forward, offering a clean damp cloth to wipe the blood from Ava’s face. Ethan looked up, taking Ava’s hand into his own, swearing an unspoken oath that from this day forward, he would spend every second of his life protecting her, rebuilding what had been broken, and ensuring that light would finally return to their home.
