MIA’S POV
The door had slammed shut behind Sean, and I was leaning against it, my chest heaving. My hands were trembling as I pressed them to the wood, trying to calm the whirlwind of emotions raging inside me. The truth Sean had revealed about my mother had been hitting me like a sledgehammer, and the pieces of my shattered reality were feeling too sharp to handle.
My mother—framed. I had known her better than anyone. She wasn’t perfect, but she wasn’t the manipulative monster they had painted her to be. They had been blaming her for their pain, for their broken family, and in doing so, they had been making me their scapegoat.
I was sinking to the floor, my heart pounding. Fear was wrapping around me like a vice. The realization of just how dangerous my situation was had been making my
