Page 109 of Kotori
"The nightmares started after the festival," she says with growing certainty. "And she's been terrified of disappointing you, like someone told her she already had. She keeps asking if you still think she's worthy of a good marriage."
Someone has been poisoning my daughter's mind, convincing her that her worth was already damaged, that compliance was her only option for redemption.
"Because if someone manipulated my daughter through fear and shame," I say with deadly calm, "they won't survive my response."
I will confront my daughter directly, learn whether she was victim of sophisticated grooming or simply made catastrophic judgment errors. And then I address the predator who saw my sheltered daughter as opportunity.
The young man who positioned himself as salvation after orchestrating her destruction, who mistake my protective love for weakness that could be exploited.
I am a predator who recognizes another predator's work, and this hunt ends with blood.
30
Paige
Thefamilydinnerfeelslike walking through a minefield.
Mizuki sits at the table like a ghost of herself. Dark circles shadow her eyes, her usual perfect posture replaced by a hunched defensiveness that makes my chest ache. She pushes rice around her bowl without eating, flinching whenever someone speaks too loudly or moves too quickly.
Kaito watches her with cold fury barely contained beneath his controlled exterior. After our conversation in the kitchen, he's been studying his eldest daughter like she's a stranger who's invaded his home. His jaw remains locked, his responses to her presence reduced to arctic politeness that cuts deeper than shouting ever could.
Since Daichi's visit, he hasn't spoken directly to Mizuki once.
"Mizuki-chan," Aya says cheerfully, oblivious to the tension crackling through the air, "want to help me with my art project after dinner? I'm drawing our family for school."
"Maybe later," Mizuki whispers, her voice hollow in a way that makes Kohana exchange worried glances with me across the table.
"Are you feeling sick, nee-chan?" Kohana asks gently. "You've barely eaten anything today."
Mizuki's hands tighten around her chopsticks, knuckles white with stress. "I'm fine. Just tired."
Kaito's expression doesn't change, but something dangerous flickers in his eyes. The daughter he raised, the child he protected, claiming to be "fine" when her behavior has allegedly brought shame to their bloodline.
"Tired," he repeats quietly, the word carrying weight that makes Mizuki flinch. "From what activities, exactly?"
The question drops into silence. Mizuki's face goes white, understanding the implication even if the younger girls don't.
"I just haven't been sleeping well," she stammers.
"How unfortunate." His voice remains conversational, but ice crystallizes in every syllable. "Perhaps you should have considered the consequences of your choices before they began affecting your rest."
The cruelty in his tone makes my stomach clench. This isn't the protective father from our kitchen conversation. This is a man who believes his daughter has betrayed everything he taught her about honor and family dignity.
Mizuki's chopsticks clatter to the table as her hands begin shaking. "Otou-sama."
"You will not speak unless spoken to," he cuts her off with lethal quiet. "Your recent communications have demonstrated a concerning lack of understanding about appropriate behavior."
Mizuki's face crumples with shame and confusion, tears threatening to spill over.
"Matsumoto-sama," I say carefully. The younger girls are watching with wide, frightened eyes.
"The children should finish their meal," he says without looking at me, his focus remaining fixed on Mizuki with predatory intensity. "Some of us, it seems, have lost our appetites due to disappointing developments."
Mizuki pushes back from the table abruptly, practically running from the room with a choked sob.
Kaito doesn't call after her. Doesn't show any reaction except the slight tightening around his eyes that suggests satisfaction at her retreat.
"Why is Papa being mean to Mizuki-nee?" Aya asks in a small voice, lower lip trembling.
