A temporary solution

The backseat of the Range Rover HSE was tense with an awkward silence as Mr. Alfred, and Emma sat a slight distance apart, neither of them saying a word for a while.

Then Emma finally looked away from the window, staring at her father, and asked, “How did your meeting go?”

Even though she tried to sound lighthearted,

her voice came out slightly strangled, and he gave her a gentle smile, saying, “Better than we planned. Hopefully, Jason would follow through with what we expected to happen next.”

She returned a small smile before looking back at the window and mumbled, “That’s good then.”

After a while of driving, the car finally came to a stop, and when Emma saw their apartment, she held her breath, memories of the past rushing through her like waterfalls. But that was nothing compared to the look on her dad’s face. His lips pressed tightly together as he stared out of the side mirror, a look of worry written on his face.

A second later, when Emma tried to reach for the lock, he