“You will have freedom,” Madam Espelth continued.
“A month… take a vacation in Siargao. Visit your grandmother, spend time with friends… with people who make you laugh, who make you feel alive. And when you return… we will face the world together, but on your terms.”
Tears threatened to spill from Aldrich’s eyes, a mix of gratitude, relief, and the overwhelming weight of years of unspoken pain. “Thank you, Mom,” he whispered, his voice thick, almost breaking.
“Thank you… I… I needed this more than you know.” Aldrich said.
Madam Espelth looked at him, her own eyes glistening, her heart softened by the sight of the boy she raised, now vulnerable yet beginning to breathe again. “You are my son… Aldrich. Nothing will ever change that.”
Outside the heavy oak door, Hermelyn stood silently,
