Chapter 7: Reinforcements
Zoe showed up that afternoon, not in a beat-up truck, but in a sensible sedan with a university parking sticker on the bumper. She stepped out wearing a jacket with an engineering firm’s logo—proof that the girl who once drank water to stretch a meal now designed things that held the world together.
Behind her, her dad got out of the driver’s seat. He looked older, but healthier, the deep lines of exhaustion on his face softened. He carried a pie in a foil tin like it was a diplomatic offering.
“Ma’am,” he said, his voice thick with an emotion he couldn’t hide. “I just wanted to say… thank you. Again.”
I took the pie, my own throat tightening. “Come inside before it gets cold.”
Zoe walked in and hugged Emma so fiercely Emma let out a little squeak. Then she saw Lucas, hovering near the living room like a ghost. Her face softened with immediate, profound understanding. She didn’t need an explanation.
She walked right up to him. “Hey,” she said softly. “You’re safe here.”
Lucas blinked at her, baffled. “How did you—”
