The grand hall had not yet recovered from the chaos.
Whispers clung to the chandeliers like cobwebs. Bloodstains already wiped away but still seemed to linger in the air, heavy with accusation and grief. Guests stood in uneasy clusters, pretending not to stare while staring anyway.
Stella stood very still.
Her hands were clenched so tightly at her sides that her nails bit into her palms, but she felt no pain. Her chest was burning instead for years of swallowed words, years of being invisible, rising like a storm she could no longer hold back.
Across from her, her mother, Susan paced like a wounded lioness.
“My grandson,” Susan hissed, voice trembling with fury and grief. “My only grandson gone because no one could control that child! You have no idea how important that th
