hone calls and urgent appointments. He left me in the echoing silence of the healing chamber, the sterile air no

Francesca was here. And not just Francesca. Her entire entourage, it seemed. Her younger sister, Chloe, a gir

perched on the edge of the ornate sofa. H

her legs. "She said you were her 'bad luck charm.' T

sting the narrative, poisoning even a chi

theatrical sigh escaping her lips. "She said you were jealous. That you

spers, now delivered by an innocent mouth. It was horrifying

om, his face etched with a familiar mixture of frustr

e said, his voice laced with disdain. "That you always put your own ego above y

, every insidious lie, he had accepted as truth. He blamed me fo

elusion so deeply ingrained, so meticulously constructed? My silence wa

nce. The man I loved, the man I married, was gone. Replaced by t

ith pure life essence. Something potent enough to break through whatever residual bloc

re life essence" required a specific, brutal ritual. It meant

d, his voice devoid of emotion. "A small sampl

excruciating. A medical procedure, performed in

daring me to protest. "Francesca said that pure essen

roat. This wasn't just ex

Cora. My daughter. Her eyes, wide and terrified, da

her small hands clutching my skirt. "Don't

g across his face. He bent down

rt. Mommy is helping Francesca. Fran

sick! She was laughing yesterday! Mommy is s

he raw pain in her voice, struck

Cora. "Cora, that's enough. You don't understand. Your m

e what you're doing, Elaina? You're confusing our daughter.

ready, but Cora's words, her desperate plea, resonated deep

nged forward, hitting Kane's leg with her tiny f

. "Elaina, control your child! You've poisoned her mind with your

own daughter's anguish. My gaze drifted to Cora, her small body shaking with sobs. She wa