~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THREE~
AMELIA’S POV
In my dream, I’m standing in a quiet orchard, sunlight spilling through the leaves, soft and golden. The air smells clean, like rain and earth,and there’s a branch just above me, heavy with green apples.
I reach up. My fingers brush the skin of one—
“Ma’am…”
The voice cuts through it.
Distant at first.
“Ma’am…”
Closer now.
The orchard slips away as the light fades.
My eyes open.
Tia is standing beside my bed.
“Good morning, Mrs. Massimo,” she says, her head slightly bowed, her voice gentle but enough to pull me fully out of sleep.
I blink slowly, disoriented, my body still heavy as I turn my head toward the other side of the bed.
Empty. The sheets are cold.
Hardin is gone.
A faint scoff settles in my chest, but I push it aside. I
