Chapter 32
Sienna’s POV
I stepped inside before I could think twice. My legs felt heavy, like they belonged to someone else. The small room smelled like old books and medicine. A single lamp cast long shadows across the walls. And there she was—my mother—sitting in a worn armchair with a blanket over her lap.
“Mom?” My voice came out small. Broken.
She looked up. Her eyes filled with tears. She was thinner than I remembered, with gray streaks in her dark hair and lines on her face that hadn’t been there before. But it was her. The same gentle smile I used to see every morning before school.
“Sienna, my baby,” she whispered. She tried to stand but winced and sat back down.
I rushed forward and dropped to my knees in front of her. My hands grabbed hers. They felt cold and fragile. “You
