He expected rejection.
That was his pattern.
Temporary presence.
Immediate removal.
Daniel looked at him directly.
“You’re not leaving tonight.”
The house changed.
Not physically.
Structurally.
For months, the mansion had functioned like a system without purpose.
Everything worked.
Nothing lived.
Emily sat in the same place every day.
By the fountain.
No movement.
No reaction.
Doctors called it trauma.
