Chapter 8 - The Departure
With her head held low and her posture defeated, Rebecca turned around and descended the porch steps. Hannah followed behind her, crying tears of anger and embarrassment as she hauled her matching designer bags back toward the SUV.
The engine turned over, and within minutes, the primary vehicle carrying Rebecca and Hannah reversed out of the long driveway, its taillights fading into the misty coastal darkness.
On the driveway, Aunt Evelyn looked up at Layla. "Layla, child... can you ever forgive us for being so blind?"
Layla looked down at her great-aunt, then at her cousins who were standing awkwardly in the cold. For the first time in fifteen years, she didn't feel small, forgotten, or invisible.
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"Come inside," Layla said gently, unlocking the large front door and pushing it open into the warm, glowing foyer of Eleanor’s house. "It's cold out there."
The family streamed into the house in quiet awe. The interior had been meticulously restored by Layla over the past several months: fresh coats of cream paint, restored hardwood floors, and framed photographs reinstated on the mantelpiece—including old black-and-white pictures of her father, Michael, smiling by the ocean.
