Chapter 7 - The Voice in the Mind
As Mrs. Rose stared at the fortune in her hands, the silence of the room dissolved, replaced by the echoing memory of a quiet, desperate whisper she hadn't truly heard over the roar of the rain at the time.
It was Marcus's voice, not the cold, clipped tone he had used when he pushed her away, but the soft, agonized cadence of the boy she had raised alone in this very cabin.
May you like
I'm sorry mom, I couldn't say it in front of her.
The voiceover of his memory was clear, haunting, and heartbroken. The truth revealed itself in sharp, agonizing fragments: the marriage was a cage, his life was no longer his own, and the woman at his side was systematically stripping him of everything he owned. Pushing his mother away wasn't an act of cruelty; it was his only means of protecting her, of ensuring she had the resources to survive far away from the toxic ruin his life had become.
