Vivienne POV

~•~

I climbed the stairs slowly, each step heavier than the last, my hand sliding along the smooth railing like it was the only thing keeping me upright. Elena’s words kept playing in my head, over and over.

By the time I reached the top, my breathing was uneven. I paused there, fingers wrapped tight around the wood until my knuckles ached. The hallway was dead quiet except for the faint tick of a clock drifting up from somewhere downstairs. The air still carried a trace of ...