"Ma'am …"
One of Amara's house security guards called.
"Actually, some time ago Mr. Richard came to the house and tried hard to meet Young Master Vero."
Amara stopped walking when she heard that. In truth, she was not surprised that Richard could easily find her address.
"Never allow him to enter. No matter what happens, don't let him set foot in my house."
"Yes, Ma'am."
The call ended.
Amara then looked at Vero beside her. She had been holding her son's hand the whole time, because they had now arrived at the place where Vero would consult a psychologist.
"Don't be afraid, okay? We'll just talk inside later. Mommy will accompany you, hm?" Amara gently stroked the top of her son's head.
"Talk about what?" Vero asked.
"Just… normal talking. There are lots of toys in there. This isn't a doctor who likes giving injections to sick people."
"Oh, I see, Aunt."
Amara nodded. Finally, she brought Vero into the doctor's room. Fortunately, Amara met a doctor who was willing to cooperate. The room did not look like a formal doctor's office — there were toy figures, cars, heroes — Vero became more comfortable and unafraid.
"Finally you've come," greeted a doctor named Maria. "Please sit… is this Vero?"
"Yes, he's my son." Amara smiled and invited Vero to sit on a sofa. As she expected, Vero showed little interest in the toys around him.
As if there was something off inside Vero now.
"Doctor, please… maybe you can help me." Amara pleaded slightly, and Doctor Maria nodded.
Vero sat calmly beside Amara. His feet didn't touch the floor. He didn't swing them, didn't play with anything, nor look around.
He simply sat there, silent. Just like what Amara saw every day.
Amara observed him closely. That uneasy feeling returned — Vero was too calm for a seven-year-old.
The female psychologist smiled gently.
"Vero, do you know why you came here today?" Maria asked.
Vero stared at the table in front of him. "Because Aunt brought me."
"Aunt? You call her Aunt? Do you know this woman is your Mommy?"
Vero glanced briefly at Amara. "Maybe…."
Doctor Maria wrote something down.
"At school, do you have friends?" Doctor Maria asked again.
"No."
"Why?"
"Not important."
Amara frowned.
The psychologist changed the direction of her question. "Who do you live with at home?"
"Aunt."
"No Daddy?"
A pause.
For the first time, his small shoulders stiffened. "No."
Amara kept staring at her son.
"Oh? Does Daddy often meet Vero?" Doctor Maria asked.
"No."
"Is Vero afraid of Daddy?"
Vero did not answer immediately.
"When you hear Daddy's voice, what happens?"
Vero's small fingers clenched. He didn't cry, didn't look sad, just… silent.
The psychologist lowered her voice. "When daddy comes home, what do you usually do?"
"Sleep in my room. Daddy comes home late."
Amara whispered, "Vero—"
The child immediately cut in, "I have to sleep quickly."
The room fell silent. The psychologist stared deeper at him. "Who told you to sleep?"
Vero's lips moved slightly. It took a long time before the voice finally came out. "My own wish."
Amara froze in place. Though it sounded ordinary, it felt like something forced Vero to sleep even when his father came home. When usually a child would be excited to greet their father, Vero was not like that.
"Did Vero live with Grandpa too before?"
Vero grew tenser, gripping his own arm as if he wanted to say something but something bigger forbade him to speak. Not only Doctor Maria noticed it — perhaps… Vero had been 'set' to stay silent even if he knew something.
"What did Grandpa do at home?"
Vero fell silent, his gaze growing emptier. His memory suddenly jumped to an incident a year ago, when Charlie was at the house.
Flashback!
"Did you hear something?"
Vero slowly shook his head as he stepped backward. The old man looked frightening before his eyes and Vero knew he was being threatened.
"You heard something, didn't you? My conversation with your daddy earlier."
"No, I didn't hear anything. I just happened to pass by because I was playing—"
Charlie crouched in front of Vero with a stare that seemed capable of making Vero receive more than a small punishment.
"I already told you, you're not allowed to wander around freely when I'm in this house. But you broke that rule. Do you know the punishment for people who break rules?"
Vero began crying. "I'm sorry…."
"Don't scream."
Vero nodded obediently. He hoped that if he obeyed, Charlie would lower his intention to punish him. However, the opposite happened.
"Grandpa Charlie, didn't I apologize? Didn't I stay quiet? Why are you punishing me again?"
Vero walked quickly because his arm was being pulled by Charlie, going to a place where the punishment would happen.
Not once or twice, but often.
"Because you keep breaking the rules, Vero."
Charlie's voice echoed in Vero's ears, along with the memories of his punishments in that house. It made his breathing slightly irregular.
"Did Grandpa do something at home?" Doctor Maria's question repeated, making Vero lower his head and answer nothing.
"Doctor Maria…." Amara stopped the session because she felt something was wrong. She hugged Vero from the side, trying to comfort him. "I think that's enough for today."
Doctor Maria slowly closed her notebook. Her tone remained gentle, but now far more serious.
"Mrs. Amara… I don't see a shy child."
Amara stiffened.
"I see a child who is used to stopping his reactions."
Amara was silent.
"Every time the question touches an adult male authority figure, Vero's body immediately gives a physical response — short breathing, stiff shoulders, avoiding eye contact. That is not natural behavior for a seven-year-old."
Amara hugged Vero a little tighter.
"What do you mean, Doctor…?"
Doctor Maria looked at Vero, then back at Amara.
"This is the pattern of a child who has received repeated punishment and cannot fight back. So he learns the safest way to survive — obey, stay quiet, and not feel."
The room became silent.
"For now I won't immediately conclude PTSD," she continued softly,
"but Vero is already in the stage of trauma conditioning. If it continues, his brain will consider fear as a normal state."
Amara looked at her son again. She couldn't handle all this at once. The most important thing now — she knew Richard or Charlie was behind Vero's trauma.
"I will come again another time. In this condition, I can't force him."
Doctor Maria nodded.
"Alright, let's go home now, dear." Amara took Vero out of the room. Vero held her hand tightly as they walked.
"Aunt…."
"Yes, dear?" Amara turned, then stopped because Vero slightly pulled her hand. "You want to say something? Talk to Mommy, dear. Mommy is here now. Mommy will protect you. Trust Mommy."
Vero's eyes looked at Amara, as if carrying a heavy burden he could not bear alone.
"I don't want to meet Daddy or Grandpa Charlie again, can I?" Vero's voice trembled slightly.
"Of course… you will live with Mommy."
Tears finally appeared. He cried for the first time in front of Amara.
"Daddy and Grandpa Charlie are bad."
Amara finally understood why Vero was willing to go with her even though he did not recognize her as his mother. Vero only needed protection, needed freedom from something bad that restrained his childhood.
"Vero? Vero!"
Vero's body collapsed, limp without any strength. Amara instinctively carried her son and hurried to ask for help. Her heart churned — her son became like this, those bastards must receive proper karma.
Some time later, Vero had received treatment. Now the child was asleep, making Amara slightly calmer.
"What terrible thing did you see in that house to become like this?" Amara murmured softly.
She then called Megan to find other information about her case. "Did you get any information?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Megan paused. "I have sent people to gather information from various places. The result is, Mr. Charlie met that police officer quite often after your case. We don't know their exact relationship yet, but there is news about the officer. Several years before he handled your case, he was indicated to be involved in someone's death. But the case was closed and the victim was declared suicide."
Amara's hand clenched. "I must go deeper into Charlie's life."
"What is your plan, Ma'am?"
"Charlie always travels with a driver because his eyesight is poor. Give a lot of money to his driver and make him my eyes. If he refuses, remove him… replace him with someone who can be paid for it."
The call ended there.
Amara looked back at the sleeping Vero. His face was pale — he had suffered a panic attack because he remembered something he didn't want to remember.
"Mommy will avenge them for you, dear." Amara held Vero's small hand.
Moments later, the inpatient room door opened. A doctor and nurse came to examine, but Amara was surprised because she knew the doctor.
"Doctor Diamond?"
The adult man with sharp eyes and a firm jaw smiled. "You're the only person who calls my name that way, Amara."
Amara frowned and stood from her chair. She remembered — this doctor used to work at the prison. Why was Doctor Diamond here?