Chapter 10 - The Broken Wall
Within minutes, the grand gallery was entirely empty. The warm glow of the chandelier now fell over a scene of destruction—broken sheetrock, shattered wooden studs, and white dust coating the floorboards.
Julian walked over to the hole in the wall, holding his son tight against his shoulder. He looked into the dark, hollow space where the boy had been forced to live in secret. The narrow framing, the torn insulation, the absolute darkness—it was a cage built inside a paradise.
He set the boy down gently on his feet. The child stood firm, his small hand gripping Julian’s thumb tightly.
"We're going to tear this whole house down," Julian whispered, looking around at the white walls. "Every room. Every corridor. We'll build something new where there are no secrets."
The boy looked down at the black voice recorder in his other hand. He slid his thumb over the power switch, turning the tiny red light off for the first time in seven months.
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"I don't need to record anymore, Dad," the boy said softly, looking up at his father with clear, peaceful eyes. "The wall is open."
Julian smiled through his tears, kneeling down to pull his son into a deep embrace as the morning light began to stream through the high windows, illuminating the dust floating quietly in the clean air.
