Clara’s POV

I was fully dressed in my nightwear, soft silk brushing against my skin, as I sat curled into the corner of my living room sofa with my laptop balanced on my thighs. The glow of the screen painted the dimly lit space in pale light. My sister’s face had just vanished from the video call, but her words still lingered, weaving themselves into my thoughts like threads I couldn’t untangle.

“Clara,” she had said in that calm, measured tone of hers, “you have punished ...