The next morning arrived as quiet and unassuming as the last, but somehow, there was a subtle shift in the air. Valerie woke up early, the soft light of dawn filtering through the curtains of the guest room where she had stayed. She had not yet returned to her own room in the mansion, unable to face it again, not after everything that had happened. So, she lay there for a moment, gazing at the faint shadows of the trees swaying in the breeze outside her window.
There was no rush today. No urgent task. No immediate fear pressing on her chest. Just the soft calm of a morning that held no promises but felt, for once, like a chance to breathe.
She heard movement downstairs, the faint clinking of kitchenware as Laura busied herself with breakfast. Valerie couldn't help but smile at the though
