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The audio file on Marina’s phone was timestamped three minutes ago. Ignacio’s thumb hovered over the screen, trembling so violently he nearly dropped the device into the crib. / Chapter 20 / 20

Chapter 20 - The Yellow Dress

Three months later, the house on Willow Street was filled with sunlight and the sweet scent of blooming jasmine.

Ignacio walked into the living room carrying a fresh cup of coffee. He paused for a moment in front of the wall, looking up at the photograph of Marina in her yellow dress. The dark shadows of the past were gone, replaced by the bright, vibrant spirit of a woman who had given everything to save her family from the dark.

From the hallway came the sound of quick, pattering footsteps. Two-year-old April toddle-walked into the room, wearing a little yellow dress that matched her mother’s portrait, laughing brightly as she chased a red rubber ball across the hardwood floor.

Ignacio knelt down, opening his arms wide as his daughter ran straight into his embrace, her tiny arms wrapping tightly around his neck.

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Isabella’s artificial tears gleamed under the soft golden chandeliers of the private VIP suite, her hands trembling with a performance worthy of a grand stage. She gestured wildly toward Khloe, who lay crumpled on the cold marble, her white silk dress torn and stained with drops of spilled champagne. Marcus stood frozen in the doorway,

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"I love you, Daddy," she whispered—the first clear words she had ever spoken.

Ignacio buried his face in her dark curls, tears of pure joy streaming down his cheeks as he looked up at Marina’s smiling portrait. "She loves us, my love," he whispered to the empty air. "And we are finally home."

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