Estelle remembered that day.
Her mother had come to her in the dead of night during a storm. With her whole body covered with injuries, her clothes torn, her eyes puffy from crying. Estelle couldn't remember what she had said, nor could she really remember her features. But she couldn't forget the way her mother had pleaded with her leave Silvervale.
Because she couldn’t bear to leave her child with a man whose cruelty ran bone-deep, a man whose true nature was hidden by facade of kindness. But Estelle was deceived by Randur's false promises and his lies.
So she had foolishly stayed.
She still heard it sometimes: the way her mother’s breath broke on a sob, the way she knelt on the stone cold floor and begged. “Please, Estelle. Come with me, dear.” But Estelle had foolishly pushed her
