Chapter 6: The Watch at Midnight
At two in the morning, Bennett walked quietly back to the primary suite. The room was dark, illuminated only by the amber glow of the salt lamp on the nightstand.
To his surprise, Clara was there. She had dragged a plush armchair to the edge of the bed and sat with Katherine’s frail hand cradled in her lap. Katherine’s breathing had grown shallow and rattling—the Cheyne-Stokes rhythm Bennett remembered from the final hours of his grandfather’s life.
Bennett slipped into the room silently, resting his hands on the high back of Clara’s chair.
Clara looked up, her face pale in the dim light, but she did not pull away.
"Her fever spiked an hour ago," Clara whispered. "She was calling for someone named Thomas."
"Thomas was my father," Bennett said softly, looking at the sleeping woman. "He died in a hotel room in Atlantic City when I was twelve. She carried this entire empire on her shoulders alone for forty years. She didn't know how to survive without controlling every outcome."
Katherine’s eyelids fluttered open, milky and unfocused. Her gaze drifted until it caught the silhouette of Bennett standing over Clara’s shoulder. A faint, fragile smile curved her lips.
"Bennett," she whispered, her voice like a dry reed.
"I'm here, Mom."
She tried to lift her hand, but could not muster the strength. Bennett reached down, wrapping his large, ink-covered fingers around hers, joining his hand with Clara’s on the quilt.
"Look at her," Katherine whispered, tears escaping the corners of her eyes and running down into her ears. "Look at what she became without our poison. She’s kind, Bennett. She has Evelyn’s kindness."
"I see it, Mom," Bennett choked out.
"Don't... don't let her leave here empty-handed," Katherine urged, her breath catching on a painful rattle. "Give her back... her mother’s dignity."
Clara leaned forward, her face inches from the dying woman’s cheek. "Mrs. Sterling... Katherine. You don't have to bargain anymore. I don't hate you. My mother never hated you. She just wanted us to be seen."
Katherine’s breath hitched. A profound stillness settled over the room, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.
May you like
"I see you," Katherine breathed, her gaze locking onto Clara’s with sudden, startling clarity. "God forgive me... I see you."
Her eyes slowly closed. The hand beneath Bennett’s fingers relaxed, releasing the tension of eighty years of fear and pride, leaving only silence behind.
