Liana's cries shattered the air, raw and desperate. "Mom, if Marek didn't want me, fine. But today, he took a knife for Vivienne! How could he? For that woman? I can't... I just can't!" Her sobs were choking her words.

Karen, her mother, held her tight, her voice soft and soothing—though tinged with a bitter edge. "Shh, baby, it's not you, it's Marek who's blind. You're perfect, just as you are."

In the next breath, Karen's voice turned sharp, venomous. "That wretched ...