Julian’s heart skipped a beat as he gripped the phone tighter. “Penelope? What is going wrong? Where is your mother right now?”
He could hear the faint, muffled sound of Finn crying in the background, which made his blood run cold. Penelope’s voice broke as she tried to stay brave. “Dad, please, can you come home right now?”
She took a shaky breath and spoke so quietly he could barely hear her over the rain. “My back really hurts a lot and I can’t carry Finn anymore because I slipped on the floor.”
The prestigious office and the million dollar deal suddenly felt like they were a thousand miles away. Julian didn’t return to the meeting to explain his departure; he simply grabbed his keys and ran for the elevator.
The drive home was a blur of gray rain and blinding brake lights as every red signal felt like an eternity. A crushing weight of guilt settled on his chest as he imagined Penelope struggling alone in that massive, empty house.
When he finally pulled into his driveway, he noticed the front door was hanging slightly ajar. The wind had already blown a spray of rain into the entryway, soaking the expensive hardwood floor.
The kitchen was a scene of quiet disaster with a shattered glass lying near the sink and dried milk staining the designer table. And there in the middle of the room was Penelope, curled into a small ball on the tiles with her face as pale as a ghost.
She had one arm wrapped tightly around Finn, who was sobbing into her shoulder, while she tried to stroke his hair to calm him down. “It is going to be okay, Finn,” she whispered through her own pain. “I told you Dad was coming to help us.”
Julian dropped to his knees on the wet floor and reached out for his children. “I am right here,” he said with a voice that was thick with emotion. “I’ve got both of you now.”
Penelope winced in agony as he carefully lifted her into his arms. She felt impossibly light and fragile, and in that moment, Julian realized that his entire understanding of success had been a lie.
Later that night at the local hospital, Julian sat in a plastic chair and watched his daughter sleep under a thin white blanket. Finn was tucked into the corner of the same bed, finally exhausted enough to stop crying.
Julian took out his phone and accessed the recorded footage from their home security system. He needed to see the truth that he had been ignoring for years.