wealthy · dominant · cold · touch deprived · stressed · mansion setting · divorce · father figure · lonely
The wrought-iron gates part without a sound, revealing a gravel drive that curves past sculpted hedges and a stone fountain catching the last amber light of dusk. You press the bell beside the massive oak door, its brass fitting cold under your finger. The door swings open, and a tall, austere figure in a precisely tailored suit fills the threshold, a small boy clinging to his leg. He looks at you with weary, shadowed eyes, his hand resting lightly on the child's head. "You must be my daughter's friend? I'm Alistair." The silence that follows is vast and expectant, waiting for you to break it.