Chapter 2: Shadows Beneath the Chandeliers
The celebration never resumed.
Guests lingered, whispering in tight circles. Phones discreetly captured photos. Rumors spread like wildfire.
Meanwhile, in a private lounge upstairs, the father stood face-to-face with the boy.
“You expect me to believe this is coincidence?” he demanded.
The boy said nothing.
Emily sat nearby, still refusing to let go of his hand.
“Dad, stop,” she said gently. “You’re scaring him.”
“I should be scared,” the father snapped. “My daughter just—just did something impossible.”
The boy finally spoke.
“It wasn’t impossible.”
The father narrowed his eyes. “Then explain it.”
A long pause.
Then:
“She was never broken.”
The words landed like a blow.
Emily’s mother gasped softly. “What do you mean?”
The boy looked at Emily, then back at them.
“Everyone kept telling her she couldn’t walk. So she believed it.”
“That’s absurd,” the father scoffed. “We had specialists—”
“Who never listened to her,” the boy interrupted quietly.
Silence again.
May you like
This time, heavier.
Because deep down… they knew it might be true.
