CHAPTER 10: The Doctor Crosses the Threshold

The doctor arrived under the same chandelier where Celeste had smiled.
She was a calm woman in a charcoal coat, carrying no panic, only authority.
The staff moved aside as she crossed the hall and guided Amelia to the wide bench near the lower staircase.
“Slow breaths,” the doctor said. “Tell me what hurts.”
Amelia answered carefully.
Nothing dramatic. Nothing exaggerated. Just the truth.
Grant tried to step closer.
Charles lifted one hand, and security shifted between them.
That small movement broke something in Grant’s face.
Until then, he had believed the marriage still gave him access to her fear.
Now there was a line on the marble floor he could not cross.
The doctor listened, checked, and nodded.
“We go to the hospital now. Quietly.”
Amelia closed her eyes once.
Quietly was all she wanted.
Justice could be loud later.