**Gaia's POV**

I push myself upright, exhaustion making every movement feel heavy. "Come in."

The door opens slowly. Mia enters with careful steps, her posture almost apologetic. The proud matriarch of the Harcourt family looks diminished somehow—shoulders slightly hunched, hands clasped nervously in front of her.

She closes the door behind her and stands there for a moment, as if gathering courage.

"I came to ask for your mercy," she says finally, her voice quiet. ...