Everyone talked about the case.
As for Baher, he disappeared completely for a whole week.
On the eighth day, he appeared before the press for the first time.
But not as a businessman.
As a devastated father.
He stood before the cameras and said in a broken voice, “I thought money could protect anyone, but I discovered it can blind you to the nearest danger.”
Lara was sentenced to prison.
And the doctor was tried on charges of corruption and attempted murder.
As for the house, everything changed.
Ryan began to recover at an astonishing rate after the poison was stopped.
His appetite returned.
And he started to talk again.
The first word he uttered in full after months was “Eliana.”
Baher was standing by the door at that moment.
And for the first time in years, he cried.
Not as a strong man.
As a father who was about to lose his only son forever.
Months later, the sun was streaming into the playroom.
Ryan was running and laughing for the first time in a long time.
And Eliana was sitting on the floor building with him.
Baher stood watching them from afar.
The house that had been cold and filled with fear was now alive.
He approached quietly and said, “You saved my son.”
Eliana looked up. “Ryan saved himself. He’s the one who spoke.”
Baher shook his head. “No. You were the only one who smelled death amidst people who only saw money.”
He paused for a moment.
Then he said, “This house was full of people, but not a single honest person.”
Eliana smiled faintly. “Now there is.”
Ryan ran to Baher and grabbed his hand. “Daddy, come play!”
Baher knelt down to his level immediately.
He picked him up and kissed his head.
The child laughed loudly, filling the whole house.
At that moment, Baher understood that all the deals he had made in his life were nothing compared to this moment.
The moment his son was still alive.
Later that night, Eliana was standing on the balcony, looking out at the sea.
The air was calm.
Baher stood beside her and said quietly, “You changed our whole lives.”
Eliana looked out at the sea. “Ryan deserves to live without fear.”
Baher looked at her for a long time, then said the sentence he never thought he’d say to anyone: “Me too.”
The house that had been a scene of conspiracy and death was finally a real home.
And Ryan, the child who had been silently withering away, started laughing again.
And the story ended.
