“Dominic, you startled me, I didn’t expect you back from the city until Friday,” she said with a forced, fluttering smile. She tried to smooth her hair and added, “The children are being absolutely impossible tonight, and I was just teaching them some discipline.”
Dominic ignored her completely and knelt on the carpet, reaching out toward his daughter. Audrey didn’t run to him; instead, she winced and pulled Toby tighter against her chest.
That flinch hurt more than any business failure ever could. “It’s okay, Audrey, it’s just me,” he said, his voice cracking as he held out his hands.
Slowly, she recognized him and fell into his arms, sobbing with a desperation that shook her small frame. As Dominic lifted Toby, he realized the boy’s clothes were damp and he smelled of neglect.
He looked at Audrey’s arms and saw faint, purple bruises where someone had gripped her too hard. He stood up, his eyes burning with a cold rage as he looked at the woman he had trusted.
“Is this the ‘care’ you’ve been providing while I was away building this life for us?” he asked in a low, dangerous tone. Priscilla rolled her eyes and sighed, “You’re overreacting because you aren’t here to see how manipulative they can be.”
Just then, the longtime cook, Mrs. Gable, appeared in the doorway of the kitchen with tears in her eyes. She looked at Dominic and whispered, “I tried to help them, Mr. Thorne, but she threatened to fire me if I stepped in.”
Dominic spent the rest of the night in the nursery, refusing to leave his children’s side until they finally drifted into a fitful sleep. Audrey clung to his thumb even in her dreams, as if she feared he would vanish if she let go.
The next morning, he sat down with Mrs. Gable and listened to the harrowing reality of the last six months. She told him about the hours the children spent locked in their rooms and the cold words Priscilla used to belittle them.
“She told them they were a burden,” Mrs. Gable said through a tissue. “She told them that they were the reason their mother was gone and why you were never home.”
The legal proceedings that followed were swift and absolute, as Dominic used every resource he had to ensure his children were protected. During a private meeting with a child advocate, Audrey finally spoke her truth.