Sonia’s POV
The night had teeth.
I didn’t sleep. Not really. I lay there for hours, staring at the ceiling, the edges of my mind fraying with every tick of the clock. My body was still, but inside me, everything churned, thoughts, memories, words I wished I hadn’t said, and those I wished I’d screamed louder.
When dawn finally crept through my curtains, pale and cold, it didn’t feel like morning. It felt like aftermath.
The house was quiet, too quiet.
Usually, I could hear the faint shuffle of staff starting their rounds, the murmur of breakfast preparations from the kitchen, Molly’s soft humming down the hall. But today, there was nothing.
Just silence.
I sat up slowly, every sound amplified, the rustle of sheets, the creak of the bedframe, the soft thud of my feet touching the flo
