And in the hour, Karl walked outside the house, two large suitcases being dragged behind him by some men in suits. He got inside the car willingly, feeling like he was going to at least try a fresh life in the hands of his own mother and father, and somehow forget everything that had happened here. Ethan watched from his bedroom window as Karl was led away. Deep inside Ethan couldn't be sad at all to get rid of the problem that had brought them to this day knowing that the happenstance would be worth it. The rest of the days would be lonelier, but he knew it was the best choice for everyone, his mother and father included too. The table of six had grown small in a span of a week and a half… and to him, Ethan felt like this was how they needed to be after the tragic loss of his brother. The Purcells! At the end of the second week after Karl's exit however, the Purcells found themselves at the cemetery again, this time saying goodbye to Karl's parents who had both been killed in their home by rival drug gang members. They had spared the boy's life since the dispute lay with the parents and not the kid… how he would survive after that would be his problem. Karl had nowhere to turn to and so he moved in with the Purcells yet again, after the burial had ended that day.
Layla placed the sleeping baby back in her crib gently after she had kneaded her muscles and fed her, and then turned to her husband.
"He has to go!" Paul roared to his wife. "He can't stay here, he has to go!"
"But where," Layla cried out to him. "Look around Paul, we're the only ones he has left… where can he go? Tell me!" She tried to defend the boy.
"I DON'T CARE!" He shouted at her. "I don't care! I cannot have that boy living around my children! He brought death into our lives, now look… our son is dead! I will not have that lunatic roaming around my son and daughter while I still live!" He spoke so harshly of Karl. He had been hiding his pain from her. Deep down Paul hated Karl as much as Ethan did. He was just being a father figure to him during the past few days but now duty overpowered honor.
"But where can we send him? Where?" Layla cried out to him, sobbing without tears.
"To a foster home, a zoo, an animal orphanage… I don't care! He has to go. Tomorrow morning the authorities will be here. He's not spending another night near my children… is that clear?"
Layla nodded with a lot of hurt in her heart. She knew the boy was innocent. But yet again, she loved her children more as any mother would agree. As a mother she wasn't supposed to choose her favorites… but Karl was nowhere near her biologically. They just shared a relative, dead Ann Hawthorn Stine. No connection existed between them that strong, despite her being his mom for the past three years. If her remaining children's future came first, she wouldn't hold back to protect them. It's what mothers do. There is a big difference between being a mother and being a mom, and today, she understood it clearly from Paul and her own senses. In the end, she agreed to the plan.
Early next morning, the designated authorities came for Karl and forced him out of the house as he seemed stubborn enough to leave. All his life, he had known his abusive and unloving parents and the kind and nice Purcells. He didn't want to leave… to go! They were all he knew as family. This time around, the whole family was standing by the porch as they witnessed Karl being dragged away by force.
"Uncle Paul, please!" Karl cried out. "Don't let them take me away!" the little boy wept terribly. "Aunt Layla… don't let them take me, please!" The Purcells looked at him, showing no guilt or remorse whatsoever. "Ethan, brother! Help me!"
"I'm not your brother! You killed my brother!" Ethan yelled back. The hate was stronger than ever. Layla muzzled him.
"Ethan," Layla told him, "Go pack your things, we leave for Washington in the evening." Ethan excused himself from the two as Karl continued to cry and plead for reconsiderations as the door of the car was locked tight. He headed upstairs to his room, but he heard the baby crying, or at least she was starting to cry. He raced over to his parent's room and took a look over the crib.
"Ssh," Ethan told her as he took her in his arms and wrapped her around his tiny hands. "Don't cry, don't cry…" he continued to soothe her as he shook her slightly making shushing sounds in between as he talked. "Don't cry, baby. I wish you knew what was going on… it's just me and you now… just you and I. All the bad people are gone, all of them. Brother is gone too," he cried out, tears stroking either side of his face, "…and I wish you would have met him. He looked like me. We were twins. He enjoyed playing a lot. He did. He promised that he would take care of me, of us, but he is not here now." He traced his hand on the tiny face. The baby grabbed two of his fingers with her tinier hands. "But I am… I am here with you now. And I'm going to keep a promise.
"You will not be alone when you're older. As you grow, I will be there to help you in whatever difficulty you might face. I will not allow you to be bullied by anyone or let anybody take advantage of you and hurt you. I will protect you, no matter what, little girl. I will be the brother that Dylan wanted to be to us, and I will love you forever, little Ingrid..."