Chloe's pov
My heart constricted painfully in my chest, as if a vice had been tightened around it. The sight of a small, innocent child ensnared in such a sinister web was simply unbearable. Derek, usually vibrant and lively, spoke with a voice that seemed hollow, a mere echo of its former self. The weight of his words matched the depths of the horrifying story he was sharing. "An only child, Chloe," he whispered, his words hanging heavy in the air. "An only child. Can you even begin to fathom the excruciating torment her parents must have endured?"
I found myself rendered speechless, the words catching like sharp thorns in my throat. My mind spun with a whirlwind of images—a vivid portrait of a little girl, her innocence intact, her laughter once filling a home that now reeked of despai
