Chapter 15 - A Room for Two
That weekend, Leah took Noah to the public library.
He picked a book about sea turtles and another about the moon.
He held both against his chest as if someone might make him choose.
"You can borrow both," Leah said.
"Even if I can't finish them fast?"
"Even then."
At home, they built a fort beneath the dining table.
Noah insisted that Pilot the fox needed his own pillow.
For one hour, the Ashcroft name never entered the room.
Then the doorbell rang.
It was Miriam, holding a shoebox.
"Rachel gave me these before the fire," she said.
"I should've brought them sooner. I couldn't stand to open them."
Inside were thank-you cards from the children at Harbor House.
One card showed a blue door with a big yellow arrow pointing outward.
Rachel had written on the back: Every child deserves a way out.
Noah traced the arrow.
"Mommy taught us what to do if there was smoke."
"She took care of a lot of people," Leah said.
"But nobody took care of her."
Leah had no gentle lie ready.
"Some people tried, sweetheart. Not enough of them."
He put the card beside Pilot.
"Then can we be the people who try now?"
"Yes," Leah said, her voice breaking.
"We can."
After Miriam left, Amir stopped by with news from the prosecutors.
The ballroom assault case would proceed separately from the Harbor House investigation, and a judge had ordered Vivian not to contact Leah or Noah.
"Will she go to jail?" Noah asked from the doorway.
Amir crouched, careful with his words.
"The grown-ups in court will decide what happens. Your job is to be safe and go to school."
Noah nodded, then whispered to Leah, "I just want people to believe Mommy."
May you like
That night, the long-awaited security recordings arrived at the detective's office.
On one of them, a man could be heard saying, "Leave that exit shut. Mrs. Ashcroft knows there's someone inside."
