POV - LINA
The night after the truth came out did not feel like night.
It felt like an endless stretch of time where everything was quiet but nothing was calm.
When I finally went back inside, no one spoke to me. My mother walked past me without looking at my face. Clara followed her, but she squeezed my hand briefly before going upstairs. Daniel left with Maya after a short, tense conversation at the door.
Ethan did not come back that night.
I lay on my bed in the dark, staring at the ceiling, listening to every sound in the house — footsteps, whispers, doors opening and closing, low voices downstairs.
Sleep never came.
By dawn, my body was tired but my mind was wide awake.
I heard movement in the house earlier than usual. Cups clinking, quiet talking, the sound of someone pacing
