Justina’s knees nearly buckled.

The world didn’t tilt it collapsed, folding in on itself under the weight of a truth too sharp to breathe around. Her pulse thundered in her ears, frantic, disbelieving, refusing to settle.

“My… my mother?” she whispered, voice raw, almost choking on the word.

Ezra’s nod was slow. Deliberate. Merciless.

“Yes.”

Carson reacted instantly.

He moved in front of her, protective, defensive but his voice betrayed disbelief, a tightness that refused ...