The Gilded Cage Unlocked

His hands are gentle but final as he picks her up, her small body cradled against the chest that was, moments ago, slick with Sofia's sweat. He carries her not to safety, but to the scene of the crime—the rumpled sheets, the heavy air. He lays her down where Sofia had been, a replacement and a consecration. The world transforms: this is no longer a place of betrayal, but a classroom. His thumb brushes her cheek. "This is what you wanted to see," he says, his voice thick. "Now you see it."