She looked up.
"Everybody got mad after I said it."
Daniel felt tears rise.
He opened his arms.
"Come here."
Sophie hesitated.
Then stepped forward.
He embraced her carefully.
She began crying harder.
"I'm sorry, Daddy."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"No."
He held her.
"You have nothing to apologize for."
She whispered, "I only saw the straps."
"I know."
He kissed her hair.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
Mara watched quietly.
For several seconds, she remembered the man Daniel used to be when Sophie was small.
The father who stayed awake through fevers.
The man who cried when his daughter learned to walk.
The husband who could be extraordinarily tender when nothing required him to confront his mother.
She felt a familiar ache.
Then she reminded herself that tenderness did not erase responsibility.
Daniel stood.
He looked toward Mara.
His expression was shattered.
"I'm sorry."
She met his eyes.
For a moment, she thought he was apologizing for everything.
The years.
The marriage.
The divorce.
The invitation.
But then he looked toward Claire.
"For what happened today."
Mara nodded slowly.
"Thank you."
He swallowed.
"Claire shouldn't have touched you."
"No."
"Or spoken to Sophie like that."
"No."
For a moment, he seemed to be searching for something else to say.
Mara tightened her grip on Sophie's hand.
"She's coming home with me."
Daniel nodded immediately.
"Of course."
"She needs a quiet evening."
"I know."
Mara looked toward Evelyn.
The older woman stood motionless near the cake.
Her pearl necklace rested against her cream dress.
For years, Mara had wondered whether Evelyn would ever face consequences for manipulating her family.
Now the woman's perfectly controlled expression had finally collapsed.
But Mara felt no satisfaction.
Not while Sophie was trembling beside her.
She turned toward Daniel.
"Call me when you've decided what you're going to tell your daughter."
He swallowed.