Chapter 100 Morning Would Come

Chapter 100 Morning Would Come
Chapter 100: Morning Would Come 

Ivy 

Tears kept slipping down my face even though I tried to keep them quiet.

Julia’s voice stayed low and even, as if she had told this part of the story so many times in her own mind that the words no longer cut her the way they once had.

“Marcel’s truck had broken down by the roadside that night,” she said. “I ran up to him in the rain, clothes torn, bleeding, half out of my mind with pain, and begged him to help me. To call the police. He took one look at the state I was in and didn’t need me to explain anything else. He called them. Solomon was arrested. I gave birth to Leo a short while later. But not long after the birth, Solomon was released. The police said there wasn’t enough evidence. They said it was clear I was unstable from the pregnancy.”

More tears fell. I wiped them with the edge of my sleeve, but they kept coming. 

“They buried it with money,” I whispered.

Julia nodded once. “Marcel and I never crossed paths again until Estella’s death. He was at the hospital with his son. Andy was among the kids accused of being involved in my daughter’s murder. I knew then that fate had brought us together a second time.”

I nodded, unable to speak.

“Solomon loved nobody else in the world the way he loved Leo,” she continued. “He never cared about Estella. Not after she was born with the birthmark. She disgusted him.”

“Birthmark?” My voice came out thin. “What birthmark?”

Julia smiled, small and distant, and lifted one hand to cover the left half of her own face—forehead, eye, cheek.

“Just like this. She had a beautiful birthmark that covered nearly half her face. Even with it, she was still the most gorgeous girl I have ever seen. Always so happy. Always so bright. The most optimistic person in the world. She used to say the birthmark was a sign that someone up there loved her so much he marked her so he could always recognize her. She often joked that the kids who bullied her were just jealous that she was special.”

I managed a smile despite the tightness in my throat. “She sounds like such a wonderful person.”

“She was.” Julia’s eyes shone. “Estella would have loved you. She loved so fiercely, Ivy. She loved Leo. She loved me. She even loved Solomon and wanted him to change.”

It suddenly made sense—why Leo had spoken of the bullying, why Estella had seemed so isolated and without friends. 

I knew, more than anyone, that there was nothing crueler in this world than teenagers with something visible to target.

“Estella and her father never got along because of the way he treated me,” Julia said. “She always stood up to him. Always defended me. Multiple times she threatened to call the police if he didn’t stop hitting me.”

“Did Leo know?” I asked. “About what Solomon was doing to you?”

“No. Solomon was too careful to hit me in front of his precious son. Whenever Leo was around, we were a perfect family.” She gave a short, humorless laugh. “He never knew. I never told him. I made Estella swear she would never tell him either. The boy loved his father more than anything else in the world. Destroying that felt like being a bad mother. Besides… the only time I ever got to see the Solomon I had fallen in love with was when he was with Leo.”

“Leo deserves to know—”

She shook her head. “Solomon and Leo are more identical than you can imagine,” Julia cut in gently. “But the difference is that Leo’s rage makes Solomon’s seem almost minor.”

“No.”

“I am his mother. I know him better than anyone.” Her voice was quiet but very certain. “That was why I was worried about you from the beginning. It only takes one thing to set him off. Just one tiny mistake. That's all it takes.”

Fear slid cold down my spine.

“His anger once led him to beat an innocent boy nearly to death,” she said. “He believed the boy had a hand in his sister’s death. He wouldn’t listen to anyone. Leo took the law into his own hands.”

I stared at her. “So… Andy was right.”

Julia’s expression tightened. “I have reason to believe Solomon himself had a hand in Estella’s death. She had pictures and videos of what he did to me. She documented everything. She wanted him locked up. He must have found out and decided to get rid of the threat.”

A sound escaped me—half gasp, half disbelief. “His own child?”

She looked away, jaw set. “Estella was found tied to a tree in the dead of winter. Her body had bruises. Multiple cuts and even burn marks. The blood had been drained from her. She was already gone before the cold finished the work. According to the autopsy, the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.”

My stomach turned. Horror settled into my bones and stayed there.

“Kids don’t do that, Ivy.” Julia shook her head slowly. “Estella often complained of being bullied and called a dairy cow at school, but all they ever did was mock her appearance, call her those mean names and taunt her. I refuse to believe those children dragged her up there, beat her to death, and left her tied to a tree. No.”

My heart sank. “So you’re saying—”

“Solomon had a hand in it. He knew the day was coming when she would expose him.”

I sat frozen, trying and failing to picture a father capable of that. The idea refused to settle into anything that felt real.

“Leo is too far gone,” Julia said after a moment. “Too blinded by his father. The only way out is if he claws his way out himself. No one can save him. Not even you. You will only end up like me.”

I drew back slightly. “So you’re saying Leo and I were—”

“Yes.” She didn’t let me finish. “You were a disaster waiting to happen. He hurts you, doesn’t he? I knew you were covering for him.”

Shame flooded my face. I nodded once. “Yes.”

Julia leaned closer. Her bruised face was serious, almost fierce.

“Listen to me, Ivy. No matter how much you love a man, the moment he puts his hands on you, run. Don’t make excuses for him. Don’t look back at the good times or what he used to be. Just run. Save yourself first. Because that first time is only the beginning.”

Tears spilled freely now. I nodded.

“Going back is a good decision,” she said more softly. “You’re still young. Too young to lock yourself into something this toxic. Leo loves you—in his own way. But his father hates you. And I know how that story ends.”

“I love him,” I whispered.

“I know you do. But you’ll get over it. You’ll grow up. You’ll find someone who loves you too much to ever raise a hand to you. One day Leo will become a memory instead of an open wound. Trust me. This is for your own good.”

I shook my head hard. “I don’t want anyone else. I want Leo. I want to be with him.”

“Ivy.” Julia’s voice gentled further, but the firmness remained. “Leo isn’t good for you right now. He needs to sort himself out first. Until he faces what’s broken in him, he will keep hurting everyone who gets close. That includes you.”

The sob I had been holding back finally broke free. 

Julia reached out and pulled me carefully into her arms. I buried my face against her shoulder and cried the way I shouldn’t let myself cry in front of anyone else—loud and messy and without any pride left.

She held me through it, one hand stroking the back of my hair the way a mother would.

“You’ll be fine, Ivy,” she murmured. “Trust me. You’re stronger than you think. And you deserve a life that doesn’t leave you bruised.”

I clung to her for a long time, breathing in the faint scent of her body wash and the strength she still carried even after everything. 

Outside the window the sky was already lightening toward morning. My flight was only hours away. The suitcases were packed. The decision had already been made.

But sitting there in Julia’s arms, listening to the soft, steady sound of her breathing, I understood something I hadn’t fully faced until now.

Leaving wasn’t only about Leo or Andy or the wreckage of the last few days.

It was about choosing not to become the next version of the story Julia had just told me.

When I finally pulled back, she wiped my cheeks with her thumbs and gave me the smallest smile her swollen face would allow.

“Go,” she said. “Be safe. And if you ever need a place that feels like home again… you know where we are.”

I nodded, throat too tight for words, and stood. 

The hallway outside her room was still dark. Somewhere deeper in the house a clock ticked toward the hour when the car would come to take me to the airport. I walked back to my bedroom on quiet feet, closed the door, and sat on the edge of the bed beside the packed bags. 

I loved Leo.

I would probably love him for a long time.

But for the first time since today, I understood that loving him and staying were no longer the same thing. Morning would come whether I was ready or not.

And when it did, I would go.