KAIA’S POV
He let out a shaky breath, his shoulders rising and falling like he’d been holding it in for too long.
“Ana and I were asleep.”
I didn’t say anything. I just listened.
“It was late. Really late. The kind of night where even the animals are silent. Then all of a sudden, my dad burst into the room, switched on the light, and told us to get up and get dressed. Fast. No time to ask questions.”
He paused, his jaw tightening like the memory still hurt.
“My mom was already in the hallway. I remember the way her hands were shaking. Her eyes were red. She’d been crying, but she kept trying to hide it like we wouldn’t notice. She wouldn’t even look me in the eyes.”
“That’s when I knew something was really wrong,” he said softly. “And then they told us we were going to stay with an
