Julian: Sweetheart, look at me. I'm here now. You're safe. I won't let anyone hurt you again.
Chloe: My legs won't work right today... I tried so hard to carry him down like she told me to.
Julian: She told you to carry him? Who made you do this, Chloe? Tell me the truth.
Chloe sobbed harder, burying her face against the sleeve of his navy-blue suit while her small shoulders shook with exhaustion. Julian held her securely, his thumb gently wiping away the hot tears that stained her pale cheeks. The sheer cruelty of whoever had forced a disabled child to haul an infant down a flight of stairs on forearm crutches made his blood boil with a lethal, focused rage. He looked up toward the shadowy end of the hallway where the woman in the burgundy dress still stood, his eyes narrowing with silent accusation. She didn't approach them, choosing instead to turn slowly and fade deeper into the dark corridors of the sprawling estate, leaving them alone in the vast foyer.
Julian: We are getting out of this house today, I swear it to you. No more fear.
Chloe: It's too heavy... everything in this house is too heavy to carry all by myself.
Julian: You don't have to carry anything ever again. That's why I came back through those doors.
Julian shifted his weight, adjusting the baby in one arm while keeping his other hand firmly cupping Chloe's tear-streaked face. Her red, watery eyes looked up into his with a fragile glimmer of hope, though the lingering trauma of whatever she had endured still haunted her gaze. Every breath she took sounded shallow and strained, a reminder of the physical toll the ordeal had taken on her delicate frame. He knew that calling the authorities or a divorce lawyer wouldn't be enough; he needed to get these children out of the blast radius of the family trust dispute immediately before anyone else could use them as leverage.
Julian: Can you stand if I help you up, or should I carry you both?
Chloe: My crutches... I dropped my crutches over by the pillar when my arms gave out.
Julian: I see them. Stay right here against my shoulder, I'll grab everything we need.