The night was long, far longer than any of them expected. Sleep refused to come easily to Elena. Even when she lay under the covers with her eyes closed, her mind wouldn’t rest. Her body felt heavy, but her thoughts raced with every fear, every possibility, every consequence of the truth waiting for her at sunrise.
Damian and Michael stayed awake too.
She could hear them.
Soft footsteps pacing the living room. Low murmurs neither wanted her to catch. The shifting of furniture, the clench of tension so thick it pressed into her chest even through the closed door. She was caught in the middle of a storm she didn’t ask for, yet somehow became the center of.
Morning finally arrived with the faintest blue glow pushing through the curtains. Elena sat up slowly, swallowing the lump in her thr
