Chapter 6
Claudia’s motive was different.
She wanted Noah to call her Mom.
Not only from affection.
From position.
She had no children.
Mark had told her that if Noah bonded completely with her, she would be treated as the mother of the future Bellacorte branch.
That phrase made me sick.
Future branch.
Noah was three.
But old families love assigning tomorrow to children who cannot tie their shoes.
Claudia began competing with Grace.
Every time Noah said Mommy, Claudia heard rejection.
Every time he asked when Grace would return, Claudia heard failure.
So she turned motherhood into obedience.
Call me Mom.
Sit properly.
Eat when permitted.
Stop talking about Grace.
And eventually:
Do not take that cheap airplane to Richard.
Because if Noah handed me something clearly touched by Grace, the fiction collapsed.
Grace had not vanished.
Noah had not forgotten.
Claudia had not replaced anyone.
A handmade toy threatened an entire identity she had been trying to build.
That was why she lunged for it even after I arrived.
May you like
Not because it was cheap.
Because it was evidence.
