The icy cold of the deep sea wrapped tightly around Lavinia, her skin stinging as though it was being scraped by shards of frozen glass. The suffocating pressure surged over her, dragging her deeper into its relentless grip.
This eerily familiar sensation sent her memories spinning like a film reel out of control, flashing scenes from her past.
Lavinia's thoughts drifted back to the Sterling family and Catherine, her mother's close friend—and Lucas's aunt.
Back then, her grandmother had been tormented by cancer, and her mother, battling ovarian complications, had lost the ability to have more children. Her mother, worried about leaving Lavinia alone after her passing, decided to adopt Charlotte, hoping to provide her daughter with companionship.
During that period, Lavinia
