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Her words caught him off guard. Something in her tone — gentle, sincere — reminded him of his own childhood.
“Why do you care so much?” he asked, his voice softer than before.
Maria looked down, her fingers tracing the edge of her coffee cup. “Because I know what it feels like to cry and have no one come.”
The Hidden Connection
That afternoon, while Maria took the twins out for their walk, Richard found himself restless. Something about her words — her calm, her quiet pain — stayed with him.
On impulse, he opened her employment file. Everything seemed ordinary: excellent references, spotless background checks… until one line caught his eye.