Chapter 15 - Ethan Speaks
Ethan did not testify in open court.
A forensic interview was recorded with Dr. Bell present.
He sat at a small table with crayons nearby.
The interviewer asked him about the chamber.
“Isabella called it the quiet room.”
“What happened there?”
“She said I needed to practice being good.”
“What did being good mean?”
“Not asking about Mommy.”
“Not asking why Dad signed papers.”
“Not telling Emma.”
“Why Emma?”
“Because she listens near doors.”
I had not known he noticed me before the gala.
He had seen me pause when staff members cried.
He had watched me carry food to an injured gardener.
Children remembered who treated invisible people as real.
The interviewer asked about the false school photograph.
“Isabella made me wear the blazer.”
“She took a picture near the stone garage.”
“Then she said the computer would make a new school.”
“Did your father know?”
Ethan looked down.
“He knew what she told him.”
The answer contained more wisdom than comfort.
The interviewer asked whether William had ever hurt him.
“No.”
“Did he protect you?”
Ethan thought for a long time.
“Not before Emma opened the wall.”
William watched the recording alone.
He later told Dr. Bell he had wanted Ethan to say more.
That he loved him.
That he tried.
That he had been deceived.
The child owed him none of those qualifications.
At the end of the interview, Ethan drew three doors.
One was black.
One was blue.
One was yellow.
“What are they?” the interviewer asked.
“The black door is the bad room.”
“The blue door is Mommy’s truth.”
“What is the yellow door?”
Ethan smiled slightly.
“The one in the house we have later.”
May you like
“Does it lock?”
“Only from my side.”
