The familiar smell of disinfectant filled her nose.
Sienna's eyes flew open.
Her mother was leaning over the bed, eyes red and swollen. Her father stood behind her, looking exhausted, as if he had aged ten years overnight.
Seeing her awake, her mother's tears burst forth. She lunged forward and held Sienna tightly.
"Sienna. You scared Mommy to death."
Warm. Real.
Not the cold basement. Not Vivian's smug smile. Not Griffin's poisonous glare.
It was her mother.
She was back in 2022.
"Mom..."
She barely got the word out before she lost control. Like a lost child finally finding home, she clung to her mother and sobbed.
Those seven years of bizarre nightmares. The stolen identity. The trampled dignity. The shattered love. Everything poured out of her, finding release in her mother's
