The next morning, as Stella was getting ready for work, she received a call from her mother, Bertha.

Bertha was crying uncontrollably on the other end of the line.

“What’s wrong? Stop crying, Mom, and tell me what happened.”

Despite everything, Stella couldn’t bear to see her mother like this.

“It’s Paige… Paige…”

Bertha couldn’t get the words out, only managing to sob harder.

In Stella’s ...