Chapter 76 Shadows At The Boardroom Table

• Scarlett’s hands were still trembling when she shut the door to the study. The weight of the conversation she had just endured with her father sat heavy on her chest, as if the air itself was pressing down. She could still hear his voice clipped, defensive, almost rehearsed as though he’d known she would come for answers and prepared himself to dodge them.
• The house felt different now. Every step echoed in a way that made her uneasy, the kind of hollow sound that belonged to empty promises and fractured families. Somewhere down the hall, she heard one of the twins’ laughter fade into a whimper, followed by soft murmurs from the nanny. It pulled her like a magnet.
• She found them in the playroom. Noah sat cross-legged on the floor, clutching his drawing book, while Lily had her face pressed into the nanny’s shoulder. Their eyes lit up when they saw her, but she noticed the shadows in those smiles, the same shadows she’d seen in her reflection lately.