Natalie's POV
My heart was breaking and mending at the same time and I could not tell which hurt worse. My mother stood ten feet away looking exactly like she did in the faded photograph I had carried for eighteen years. Same dark hair. Same gentle eyes. Same smile that used to make me feel safe before the world took her away.
"Mom?" The word came out as a whisper. Tears were already streaming down my face and I could not stop them.
The woman opened her arms. "Come here, baby."
I took a step forward. Xander's hand clamped around my arm like iron. "That is not your mother. She is dead."
"She is right there!" I sobbed and yanked free from his grip. My whole body was shaking. "I can see her. How can you not see her?"
The woman in white smiled but it was sad. Heartbreaking. "He is right,
