Chapter 10
Six months after the trial, the old Victorian house on Elmwood Drive was demolished. Arthur watched from a safe distance as the heavy machinery tore through the floral wallpaper, the hidden alcoves, and the tainted timber, reducing the monument of lies to a pile of rubble that was hauled away to a local landfill. The plot was sold, with the proceeds placed into a trust fund managed by Sarah for Leo and Clara’s future education.
The family relocated to a quiet coastal town in Maine, far from the suffocating social circles and high-pressure corporate environments of their past life. Their new home was a modest, weathered cedar-shingle house overlooking the rocky Atlantic shoreline. Salt air filled the rooms, replacing the scent of artificial lavender and hidden decay.
Sarah had recovered much of her physical health and spent her afternoons painting watercolors of the coastline on the back porch. The shadows in her eyes had softened, replaced by a quiet, steady peace.
"Dinner is almost ready," Sarah called out from the kitchen, the smell of roasted garlic and fresh bread drifting through the open windows.
Arthur wiped the sawdust from his hands, setting down the toolbox he had been using to repair the front porch railing. Leo was sitting on the steps nearby, helping assemble a small wooden birdhouse for Clara, who was chasing seagulls along the damp shoreline with joyful shrieks that echoed over the crashing waves.
"Coming," Arthur replied, a genuine smile touching his face. He felt lighter than he had in decades. The blue suit jackets and expensive corporate pretenses were gone, replaced by flannel shirts, worn denim, and honest labor.
Leo looked up, handing a small wooden panel to his father. "Do you think we'll ever go back to the city, Dad?"
May you like
"Not a chance," Arthur said, kneeling beside his son. "We don't belong there. We belong where the air is clear and everything is out in the open."
"Good," Leo said simply, hammering a small brass nail into the roof of the birdhouse. "Because I like it here. No hidden rooms."
