Sophie’s eyes filled with tears. “Liam and I wanted to go to Grandma’s.
But you said no, so I… I locked you in the cellar. I thought… I thought if you weren’t there, we could go.”
My mother gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. “Oh, Sophie, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to be mad at me,” Sophie sniffled.
“I told Grandma you went to a friend’s house, so we could stay here.”
I felt a mix of emotions—relief that my mother wasn’t guilty, but also frustration at the mess this had all turned into. Emma looked like she didn’t know whether to be angry or heartbroken.
“Sophie,” I said gently, “locking someone up is very serious. You scared Mommy a lot.”
“I’m sorry,” Sophie whispered, clinging to Emma.
“I didn’t mean to make you sad.”
Emma hugged her tightly, and I could see the tension starting to ease from her shoulders. But the bigger issue remained.
“Mom,” I said, turning back to my mother, “we need to talk. This can’t happen again.
We need to figure out how to move forward, for everyone’s sake. Or else…”
My mother nodded, still looking shaken. “Of course, Michael.
I never wanted any of this.”
Emma stood up, holding Sophie’s hand. “I don’t want to fight, but we need to set some boundaries. I don’t want the kids caught in the middle of this.”
I knew this was just the beginning of a long conversation.
But as we all sat down together, I felt a cautious optimism. It wouldn’t be easy, but we were a family. And somehow, we’d find a way through this.
