Chapter 11 — Mother’s Watch

Daichi Hayashi is leaving for Scotland.

For Riku, Sara, and Emiko, that means the apartment loses the person who has been controlling every room, every question, and every official answer since Riku came home.

But Daichi’s absence does not leave the household unprotected.

It leaves Emiko watching.

As Riku begins training his body for dangers he can no longer ignore, Sara adjusts to a home that treats rules as care instead of chains, and Emiko takes control of the family’s daily safety, the Hayashi apartment becomes something new: a shelter, a command center, and a place where love looks a lot like discipline.

Because in a watched world, survival starts at home.