Flora's POV
The roar of Josh’s father’s SUV fading down the gravel driveway was the loudest sound I had ever heard.
Emily had spent the entire afternoon fluttering around the foyer like a butterfly, checking her bags, double-checking her chargers, and giving me a long, tight hug before she finally stepped through the door.
"Don't study too hard, Flo," she had laughed, throwing a wave over her shoulder. "Dad, don't let the firm call you back. Enjoy the break!"
"I intend to," Eugene had replied from the doorway, his voice a smooth, unbreakable shield of fatherly calm.
But the moment the heavy iron gates clicked shut at the edge of the property, that shield dissolved. The silence that rushed back into the house wasn't empty; it was thick, heavy, and completely suffocating, charged with
