Chapter 7 - The Unexpected Visitor
Around ten o'clock in the morning, a soft knock rattled the outer frame of the studio door.
I didn't jump. I walked over, peered through the frosted glass peephole, and unlocked the deadbolt.
Standing on my front porch wasn't my mother or my disgraced brother. It was Sarah, Lucas’s wife. She looked exhausted, dark circles bruised beneath her eyes, her heavy winter coat clutched tightly around her eight-month pregnant belly. She looked smaller than usual, stripped of the defensive arrogance she usually wore when trying to blend into the Vance family dynamic.
“Maya,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “Can I... can I come in?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning slightly against the doorframe. I didn't invite her in, but I didn't slam the door in her face either.
“You have about two minutes, Sarah,” I said, my voice cold and flat. “And if you’re here to deliver another message from Lucas or my mother, save your breath.”
Sarah flinched, looking down at her boots before stepping past me into the studio. She didn't look around at the custom woodworking tools or the cozy loft; her eyes were fixed on the floor.
“I’m not here on their behalf,” Sarah said, her voice trembling. “Lucas is losing his mind. He spent the entire night screaming at his phone trying to find a lawyer who would tell him that Dad’s arrest is illegal. He’s completely blind to reality, Maya. But... but I’m not.”
She looked up, her eyes swimming with unshed tears.
“When Dad threw that plate... when I saw little Sophie standing in that doorway, watching her grandfather throw pottery like a madman and seeing you bleed... something broke inside me. That isn't a family anymore, Maya. It’s a cult. And I’m not letting my kids grow up in the middle of it.”
I uncrossed my arms, feeling a tiny sliver of the ice around my heart thaw. “Why are you telling me this, Sarah?”
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“Because Lucas packed up his car an hour ago and went to bail his father out,” she said, swallowing hard. “And before he left, he told me that the moment Dad gets home, they’re going to file an emergency injunction to claim this studio as ‘temporary dependent housing’ to bypass your trust deed. They think they can legally force their way in by tomorrow morning.”
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