"Are you absolutely sure, my darling? Your eyes—they just don't look happy." Sarah's voice, thick with maternal worry, still echoed in the room.
Amelia had managed a brittle, convincing smile. “I’m fine, Mom. Really. I just need a little while alone to… to process it all. It’s a big step.” A few seconds of genuine solitude—that was all she had begged for.
As the heavy oak door clicked shut, the carefully constructed facade crumpled. Amelia didn’t rush to the window or weep into a pillow. Instead, her gaze dropped to the object that held her captive: her sleek, expensive smartphone.
The screen glowed, displaying the paused image of a grainy, shaky video. It was a still shot of a moment stolen from the feverish, intoxicating blur of New Year’s Eve. The luxurious suite room, the cham
