Chapter 6 - Breaking the Silence
Suddenly, a tiny, fragile voice pierced the heavy silence of the room.
“No.”
Everyone froze.
The guards stopped dragging me.
Vivienne’s jaw dropped in absolute shock.
Harrison slowly turned around, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Maya was standing up, her small fists clenched at her sides.
She hadn’t spoken a single word in three entire years.
“Maya?” Harrison whispered, his voice cracking with emotion.
“Did you just speak?”
Maya nodded, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
She pointed a trembling finger directly at Vivienne.
“Bad,” Maya said, her voice raspy from years of disuse.
“She burned me.”
The entire room fell into a stunned, breathless silence.
Vivienne’s fake tears instantly vanished, replaced by sheer panic.
“She’s confused!” Vivienne stammered, taking a step backward.
“The trauma has clearly scrambled the child’s brain!”
Harrison didn’t look at Vivienne.
He kept his eyes locked on his little girl.
“Maya,” Harrison said softly, walking toward her.
“Who burned you, baby?”
Maya looked at me, then looked at her father.
May you like
“Vivienne,” she whispered.
The world seemed to stop spinning.
