For the first time in years, the keys to the doors sat securely in Hazel’s apron pocket. The domestic ledger had been officially transferred to her name, and Lady Elena’s toxic presence was barred from the floor.
Yet, as Hazel walked down the quiet stone corridor, a strange, suffocating weight pressed tightly against her chest. The air inside the residential wing felt entirely too heavy, carrying a faint, metallic coldness that made the hairs on her arms stand up.
She unlocked the massive double doors to the twins’ bedroom, a soft, reassuring smile ready on her lips. "Aidan? Liam? Rise and shine, my loves. Greta has made the sweet berry porridge for breakfast."
But the room was deathly quiet.
The usual sounds of the hybrid toddlers bouncing on the heavy mattress, laughing, or wrestlin
