Hazel POV
The safe house had become our strange new reality.
Days passed in a quiet rhythm that felt both comforting and suffocating. Mom spent long hours in the garden, her hands deep in the rich soil as she coaxed flowers back to life. She said the work reminded her of better times, before Dad left and money became a constant worry. Lucas had claimed the game room as his own, spending hours rebuilding his strength on the expensive equipment. He laughed more now, but the bruises on his face and ribs were still fading reminders of how fragile our safety really was.
I moved between them like a shadow, trying to hold everything together while my own body fought me at every turn.
The pregnancy was getting harder to hide.
Mornings were the worst. I woke before dawn, rushing to the private
