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chapter 109
Chapter 109: Elena at Six Elena turned six on a rainy April afternoon. The rooftop party was moved indoors to the penthouse living room—string lights still hung, balloons taped to every surface, and the long table pushed against the windows so the city rain streaked like silver behind the cake. Elena wore a new dress this year, deep emerald green with tiny gold stars sewn along the hem. She said it made her feel like a night sky walking. Alex, almost two now, toddled after her with determined steps. He wore a tiny matching bow tie that he kept trying to pull off. Every time he got close to the cake, Elena gently steered him away. “Not yet, Alex. Candles first.” The team came again. Rico brought empanadas and a piñata shaped like a dinosaur. Lydia gave Elena a kid-safe coding kit that lit up when you connected the pieces. Marcus handed her a small wooden box with a lock—she spent ten minutes figuring out the combination (her birthday backward) and found
chapter 108
Chapter 108: Elena at Five Elena started kindergarten in September wearing the same purple dress she’d insisted on for every first day since preschool. It was too short now, sleeves riding up her arms, but she refused to change. “It’s my lucky dress,” she told Bella that morning while Damian tied the laces on her new sneakers. “It worked for ballet. It’ll work for big school.” Bella knelt to adjust the hem anyway. “You’re right. Lucky dress it is.” Alex, now nine months old and crawling at alarming speed, watched from his play mat in the living room. He banged two plastic blocks together like cymbals, cheering his sister on in his own language. Damian scooped him up before he could launch himself toward Elena’s backpack. “Your turn next year, little man.” Elena hugged Alex’s chubby legs. “Don’t cry when I leave, okay? I’ll be back after snack time.” Alex grabbed a fistful of her curls and grinned. The walk to school was short—three blocks through the park. Elena held Dam
chapter 107
Chapter 107: Elena at Four and a Half Elena turned four and a half on a crisp November Saturday. The rooftop party from her fourth birthday had become tradition now—same long table under string lights, same too-sweet cake, same team members who showed up every year like family. This time Alex was six months old, chubby-cheeked and drooling on everything within reach. He sat in Bella’s lap most of the afternoon, gnawing on a teething ring while Elena ran circles around the guests, showing off her new “big sister tricks.” She had decided, in her very serious way, that big sisters must be able to do three things perfectly: tie shoes (even though she still needed help), read chapter books (she could manage the pictures and some words), and protect the baby. That last one she practiced constantly. When Marcus bent down to say hello, Elena stepped in front of Alex’s stroller like a bodyguard. “You have to be gentle,” she told him. “He’s still little.” Marcus raised both hands in surre
chapter 106
The Second Arrival Time moved faster with a three-year-old in the house. Mornings were chaos—Elena insisting on choosing her own clothes (always the purple dress with the sparkly stars), breakfast negotiations (no green bits in the eggs, Da-da), and the daily ritual of walking her to preschool hand-in-hand while she told long, winding stories about imaginary friends who lived in the clouds. Bella’s pregnancy showed by spring. A gentle curve under her loose sweaters. She glowed in a way that made strangers smile at her on the street. Damian noticed everything: the way she rested one hand on her belly when she laughed, how she ate pickles straight from the jar at midnight, the soft hum she made when Elena pressed her ear to the bump and whispered secrets to the baby inside. They didn’t rush to tell Elena at first. Wanted to wait until it felt real, solid. But kids sense things. One evening Elena climbed onto the couch between them, put both hands on Bell
chapter 105
: Elena at Three Three years slipped by the way good years do—quiet, steady, full of small moments that stack up into something solid. The penthouse nursery was gone. Elena had her own room now, walls painted soft blue with white clouds stenciled near the ceiling because she once said she wanted to sleep inside the sky. Her bed was low to the floor so she could climb in and out without help. Bookshelves overflowed with picture books, chapter books she pretended to read, and one worn copy of The Little Prince that Damian read to her every night she asked. She was three and a half. Tall for her age. Dark curls that never stayed in ponytails. Eyes that missed nothing. That morning she stood in the kitchen doorway in mismatched pajamas—one leg blue, one striped—watching Damian pour coffee while Bella sliced strawberries. “Da-da,” she said, serious as a judge. “Why do bad uncles go away?” Damian paused mid-pour. Bella glanced up from the cutting board. They had known this question w
chapter 104
Chapter 105: The Quiet Dock The drive home from Vance’s apartment felt longer than it should have. Streetlights slid across the windows in slow yellow streaks. Marcus drove steady, no hurry. Rico watched the mirrors like always. In the back seat Bella rested her head on Damian’s shoulder. Neither spoke. The silence wasn’t heavy—it was the kind that comes after you’ve said everything that needed saying. Damian kept his phone face down on his thigh. The three-word message still sat there, unread again after he’d deleted the first view. Nice talk. But the game’s not over. He didn’t open it. Didn’t need to. Whoever sent it wanted him to chase shadows tonight. He wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction. When they pulled into the garage, the penthouse lights were low. The night nanny met them at the door with a quiet nod. “She slept through. No fuss.” Bella went straight to the nursery. Damian followed a step behind. Elena lay on her back, arms f
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