Chapter 7 - The Healing Process
Arthur did not fire Sarah. In fact, the next morning, he called her into his first-floor office and handed her a new contract.
"You are no longer a cleaning lady, Sarah," Arthur said, a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes. "I am hiring you as Brooke’s personal companion and coordinator. Your salary will be tripled, and you will have full authority over her daily schedule. I want her to see the world again. And... I want you to help me learn how to talk to her."
Sarah accepted the contract with tears in her eyes. The first thing she did was demand that Barnaby be released from the west wing permanently. The golden retriever was given a large, plush bed in the main living room, and within days, his coat regained its shine as he followed Brooke everywhere like a loyal shadow.
The hardest part was the truth.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Arthur sat down on the living room rug with Brooke. Sarah stood in the doorway for support. With a trembling voice, Arthur held his daughter's hands and told her about the beautiful place called heaven where her mother was resting, free from pain.
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"She didn't leave because she didn't love you, Brooke," Arthur wept, pulling his daughter into his arms. "She loved you more than life itself. And I am so, so sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
Brooke didn't speak for a long time. She just held onto her father's neck, her small fingers clutching his shirt. For the first time in two years, the heavy, suffocating silence in the mansion didn't feel like a locked vault; it felt like a quiet space where two broken hearts were finally starting to heal.
