Chapter 9: Silent Resolve

A year had passed.

A year trapped in the cold, gray walls of Ironwood Asylum.

A year of silence.

Elliott had learned how to survive.

After Lily and Maggie’s deaths, after his father’s chilling warning, he had made sure to never give anyone a reason to be suspicious. He had buried his anger, buried his grief, buried the part of him that wanted to scream.

His father had stolen his voice.

But he had not stolen his mind.

And Elliott was going to use it.

---

His new nurse was named Gwen.

She had arrived a few months after Lily and Maggie were “transferred” – at least, that was the lie the asylum told the other staff. Gwen was younger than Maggie but older than Lily, with dark auburn hair tied into a loose braid and sharp green eyes that seemed to catch everything.

She was different from the others. She didn’t look at Elliott like he was fragile, or like he was dangerous. She just saw him.

And she was the first person in a long time that Elliott had let get close.

Not close enough to ask too many questions. Not close enough to get hurt.

But close enough to teach him.

Gwen was the one who taught him sign language.

At first, she had simply wanted to help him communicate better. The asylum had assumed Elliott was completely mute—no one questioned it anymore.

So when Gwen had started visiting him regularly, she had brought a book with her.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever tried signing before,” she had said with a small smile, placing the book on his cot. “But I figured if you can’t speak, this might help.”

Elliott had stared at the book for a long time. He had never considered it before.

But now, it was another way to speak. Another way to reclaim something his father had stolen.

So, he learned.

Day after day, lesson after lesson, Gwen patiently taught him how to sign. At first, it was the basics—letters, simple words. But soon, they were holding full conversations.

Elliott was careful, though.

He told her nothing about his past.

When she had asked about his voice, he had simply signed:

“Lost it in an accident.”

She had given him a curious look, tilting her head slightly. “An accident?”

He nodded.

She didn’t press.

And that was when Elliott knew—Gwen was smart.

She saw the cracks in his story, but she didn’t push him. She let him keep his secrets.

And because of that, Gwen was safe.

---

But his father still came.

Every week.

Like clockwork.

Dr. Samuel Delacroix would arrive at Ironwood, dressed in his immaculate suit, carrying himself with the same cold arrogance as always.

The nurses and doctors adored him.

“He’s such a dedicated father,” they would whisper.

“He visits every week. Such a good man.”

Elliott wanted to laugh.

They had no idea who they were letting into their halls.

His father never stayed long. He would sit across from Elliott in the visitor’s room, watching him with those piercing, calculating eyes.

And every time, he would say the same thing.

“Are you behaving, Elliott?”

And Elliott would nod.

Because that’s what his father wanted.

Because that’s what would keep him alive.

But deep inside, beneath the surface of forced obedience and silence, something was growing.

Something dark.

Something patient.

His father thought he had won.

He thought he had buried Elliott in this asylum, had broken him, had silenced him forever.

But he was wrong.

Elliott was still here.

And he was waiting.

Every day, every week, every visit—Elliott planned.

His father had taken everything from him.

And one day, he was going to take it all back.

---

The first time Elliott stepped into the courtyard, the sunlight felt wrong against his skin.

It had been over a year since he had last felt the warmth of the sun on his face. After so long inside the gray, suffocating walls of Ironwood Asylum, he had almost forgotten what fresh air felt like—almost forgotten what freedom was.

The courtyard wasn’t much. A square patch of land surrounded by towering iron fences, topped with barbed wire that curled like hungry thorns. The grass was patchy, and a few neglected trees stood in the corners, their branches swaying gently in the cold breeze.

But it was outside.

And right now, that was enough.

Elliott took a slow, measured breath, letting the crisp air fill his lungs. His body was still stiff from months of confinement, but the ache was worth it.

“You look like you’ve never seen the sun before,” Gwen teased beside him, her arms crossed as she watched him carefully.

Elliott gave her a pointed look and signed, “Feels like I haven’t.”

Gwen chuckled, shaking her head. “That’s fair. You’ve been cooped up in there for way too long.”

Elliott nodded, shoving his hands into the pockets of his plain, asylum-issued coat. There were other patients in the courtyard, but none of them paid him any mind. Some were mumbling to themselves, others staring blankly at the sky.

But he wasn’t like them.

And Gwen knew that.

She had fought to get him permission to come outside, to walk under the open sky. At first, the asylum’s head doctor had been reluctant. But Gwen had argued that Elliott had been nothing but well-behaved for the past year.

“I don’t think he’s a danger to anyone,” she had told them. “And I don’t think keeping him locked inside forever is good for him.”

And so, after months of patience, of playing along, of pretending to be the obedient, silent son his father wanted—Elliott had finally been given this small sliver of freedom.

It wasn’t much.

But it was a start.

---

They walked along the cracked stone pathway in comfortable silence.

Elliott didn’t mind being quiet—he didn’t have a choice, after all—but with Gwen, the silence wasn’t uncomfortable.

Eventually, she broke it. “So, are you ever going to tell me what you actually like?”

Elliott raised an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean?”

She smirked. “You never talk—well, sign—about yourself. You just listen, and I’m the one rambling.”

He gave her a small shrug. “You like to talk.”

Gwen rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. “Yeah, yeah. But seriously. What do you like?”

Elliott hesitated.

For a long time, he had forgotten what he liked. His life had been reduced to survival, to silence, to hiding behind his father’s shadow.

But now, with Gwen looking at him expectantly, he forced himself to think about it.

Finally, he signed, “I used to like books.”

Gwen’s expression brightened. “Used to?”

Elliott hesitated before signing, “Hard to enjoy them when you’re locked away.”

Gwen’s smile faltered, and for a moment, a flicker of sadness crossed her face. But then, she quickly masked it with something lighter. “Well, maybe we can fix that,” she said. “I could bring you some books if you want.”

Elliott blinked, caught off guard by the offer.

No one had ever done something like that for him.

His fingers twitched slightly before he signed, “Why?”

Gwen tilted her head. “Why not?”

Elliott stared at her, studying her face carefully. She wasn’t lying.

She meant it.

A strange, unfamiliar warmth settled in his chest, something he hadn’t felt in years. It made him feel uneasy.

He wasn’t supposed to care about people.

Not after what had happened to Lily and Maggie.

But Gwen…

Gwen was different.

She wasn’t pushing him for answers, wasn’t demanding to know the truth. She was just there, treating him like a person instead of a broken thing.

And that terrified him.

Because he could feel himself starting to like her.

More than he should.

More than he wanted to.

He forced himself to look away, shoving his hands deeper into his coat pockets. “If you want,” he signed, keeping his answer short.

Gwen grinned. “Alright, it’s a deal then.”

The conversation moved on, but the feeling in Elliott’s chest lingered.

Something about Gwen was pulling him in.

And that was dangerous.

Because if he cared about her, if he let her in, then she would be in danger, too.

Just like Lily.

Just like Maggie.

And he couldn’t let that happen again.

So as they continued to walk, as Gwen talked about the books she would bring him, about how he had to read something interesting and not boring, Elliott forced himself to bury the feeling deep inside.

Because there was no future for him.

No happy ending.

Only revenge.

And one day, when the time was right…

His father would pay for everything he had done.

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