Elena’s Point Of View

The yard went still.

The silence pressed down heavy, thicker than the night air. My chest heaved, every breath slicing fire through my ribs, but I didn’t look away. My words hung there… Even in death, father is a million times better than you… like a blade no one wanted to touch.

The men shifted uneasily. Boots scuffed against gravel, metal clicked as someone adjusted a knife at his belt, low mutters stirred but quickly died under the weight of her glare. My mother ...