Elena’s POV

The room is still loud when it happens.

Not loud in a fun way. Loud in the way people get when they think the danger is over, when they start talking all at once because they believe the worst has already passed. Voices overlap. Chairs scrape. Someone laughs nervously, like this is all just a shocking story they will tell later.

I am standing beside my father, my heart still racing from his announcement, my head spinning from the words sole heir echoing in my ears. I have not even ...