ELLA

It knocked the breath straight out of my lungs. Daphne is dead. Beatrice’s mother. And there’s everything wrong with the fact that it is literally the devil that’s telling me this.

Like he killed her himself. That’s not beyond him. Nothing is beyond Marshall Ford. My throat is closed up, my eyes wide as I try to force out the word “why” while consistently choking on condensed air.

“Slipped in the bathroom.”

“You sound well-informed.”

“She birthed my ...